The Return
by The Laughing Vulcan
Summary: The return of Kara Zor-El to the modern DCU...
1. DisclaimerPrologue

DISCLAIMER: Kara Zor-El, Zor-El, Jor-El, Lara, Alura Zor-El, J'onn Jon'zz, Kyle Rayner,

Kal-El, Superman, Supergirl, Clark Kent, Plastic Man, Diana, Bruce Wayne, and all other related characters used in this story (excepting Nara) are ©2004 by DC Comics Inc. and are used without permission for non-profit, fan-related entertainment purposes only. This original work of fiction is ©2004 by Gregory R. Lissandrello and may not be reproduced in any form, in part or as a whole, without the express permission of the author. Revision 2 is ©2006 by Gregory R. Lissandrello

**My thanks to all who helped bring this character to life, both writers & artists. My thanks also go out to Dylan Clearbrook, DTO, Tesub Calle, Jfeer and everyone else that bandied ideas about our favorite blonde babe and her cousin back & forth with me. Many minds did indeed make light work. Lastly, I'd say thanks to Otto Binder, for creating her...and for Mr. Peter A. David, who, in six memorable issues, gave her a soul...**

PRELUDE:

The god had watched the events unfold and had seen the emerald human struggle to end the universe...Almost succeeding, only to be stopped by his former friends.

In silence, the god watched as time (as the heroes knew it) came to an end.

All that was…was no more.

With the emerald armored madman removed from the picture, He watched as the Spectre helped channel primal energy into a young mortal that very shortly began to roil visibly with raw, universal power.

There was a pause…then the human exploded.

(No, just the energy was released. The god watched in surprise as the group of heroes shunted the youth into the realm of null reality a fraction of a second after the massive explosion took place…)

The Big Bang.

Thanks to the heroes in the null globe, some orphaned from a couple realities, time and reality itself began anew.

He shook his head in wonder. My, these mortals are resourceful…

And, more importantly, He noted, quite successful.

He watched in wonder as some of the remaining problems from their previous...Crisis…dissolved and were rectified. He suddenly realized that the timing was perfect.

Could he fix one more problem for one of his beloved daughters?

"Scheming again, my Husband?"

The two gentle hands on his shoulders were accompanied by a decidedly amused voice. He looked up at the golden spirit looking down at him, smiling and radiating good humor. He placed a hand over one of hers and nodded with a gentle smile.

"Very much so, Nara. It is long past time to right the wrong. We both know how sad she is. She has been SO patient; though it's clear to me she wants to be down there so BADLY. She hides it well, but..." He trailed off.

Nara quietly nodded. "She IS an explorer…She has a hunger for growth and knowledge that surpasses many of those up here...and she was no different in her last physical sojourn."

He remained silent, and parted time and space, focusing in on a battle scene in an antimatter universe.

Saw a slender girl, driven by fear and rage, attempting to stop the one who would destroy EVERYTHING that she held dear.

A distraction, and she turned.

Her opponent took advantage of this momentary distraction, and punctured her form with a lethal blast.

He sees his Favored Son, moments later, cradling her sagging form, in her last few seconds. His silent sobs were soon followed by a scream of rage and pain that shook two universes, as her soul headed home.

Time sped on and they watched the newly reformed Multiverse restart.

He was silent for a moment. "She was removed from physical existence by their Crisis, and from the collective conciousness by the later ripple centered around my last son."

Nara knelt next to him, resting a hand on his cheek.

She remained silent for a moment, gazing into his almost fluorescent blue eyes.

"It's not just that, is it? You are frustrated that you couldn't do anything to help the rest of them?"

He paused, rubbing his hands across his face, looking into his wife's gray eyes, and nodded sadly.

"Nara, how could I NOT? With all we can do...only one survived.

His ancestors lived in a hell...that we couldn't change."

He paused, gathering His thoughts.

"YES...in a few of the other universes, his people lived on…In their 'Phantom Zone', unfortunates were remade and reprogrammed to be like them, but here..." He trailed off.

Nara brushed her hand gently across her husband's cheek.

"Even such as WE have to obey the rules of existence." She chided Him gently.

"In this universe, the laws of love are much the same as in my home universe. Our power is tied to the love we GIVE others and that they give in turn back to us, but they have to recognize us first. Of their own free will. They chose not to. Instead, they chose to divest from themselves the ONLY things that would have helped us save them. THAT was their choice... THAT is why they died..." She paused. "As Kal found out in the past on HIS end, one being can only do so much. In the end, it needs a give and take to make something like that work."

He remained silent and waved his hand, silently commanding an image to appear before him. He watched as Bertron altered the course of a mighty planet in its' infancy; as the most famous house was allowed only ONE son as the end neared...

Nara watched as the birthing matrix was attached to a hyperdrive by servant droids... as the anguished but outwardly calm father tried to calm his frightened and enraged wife. Quakes shook the building, and he hurried over to a control panel. The toggle was pressed...and the rocket, with its' precious cargo, roared free to safety. Seconds before the end, he reached out, breaking his people's laws... professing his love and caressing his wife's cheek.

Nara looked at Him and could SWEAR she could hear His heart break...AGAIN. "Out of all those lives, this time, only ONE was saved?! To live in loneliness, deprived of the comfort and friendship of his own kind?!"

He paused a moment and waved his hand, flashing back to a pivotal point in the planet's history, staring at the panicked warrior who had changed so much in an instant. What was that old earth saying? For the want of a nail, the shoe was lost...He looked up at a worried Nara, and tried to smile reassuringly.

"In that past earth, others, even Kal himself, had learned much from her...About courage. About persistence. About compassion, wisdom, loyalty, and love.

She proved that TRUE strength comes from a strong heart backed by an open mind. It is one of the laws of existence that love like that is to be returned amplified, many-fold..."

He shook his head, discomfited.

"Not forgotten about. Not obliterated.

She deserved a full life, but was denied by a universe in upheaval..."

He stood up with a determined expression on His face.

"...And now, thanks to a universe in upheaval AGAIN, she will HAVE that chance she longs for."

He switched his attention to a solar system fifty light-years away from what would become earth.

He watched as a new star was born and planets formed around it. As time sped on, the sun swelled in size, obliterating its' three inner planets, and turned red.

He switched his gaze to the now third planet from the red giant and focused in on one of the reproductive councils on the largest continent. Gently, He 'nudged' them gently toward the desired outcome.

Success.

He watched with a smile as the proud family gained a younger son, to assist the older in the future. Then he checked on another family. A daughter. Good. All, again, as it should be.

He stood up, and then sent his being to where his daughter was just finishing up her 'pep talk'.

"...Although the name I'm most fond of is Kara."

Kara closed the communication with the brave girl, and then sighed sadly. She stared into space briefly, reminiscing on the time when she wore the colors that this girl now wore. Seconds later, she noticed a numbness in her hands.

Raising them to her face, she watched in shock as they slowly started to fade.

_Could it be?_ she thought. Whispering a silent prayer under her breath, she looked down at the floor…

At the fine, glowing silver thread coming from her heel.

"K'aavacha..." she whispered, thunderstruck, her eyes filling with tears.

She heard a chuckle, and watched as He manifested with a smile.

She looked at him with excitement building.

"I-I'm going back? I'm going BACK!!"

He nodded in confirmation and smiled. "I had the opportunity. It was time to right the wrong." He sobered and held his hand up to slow the fading. "But I must tell you, my child, you will face great challenges again...Warped and shattered souls that will resist love and hope...as well as your own weaknesses and insecurities, as well."

Kara looked at him with bright excitement on her face. "Allfather, you know as well as I that that is a risk we all take when we choose to live...but that is the only way we can grow. Adversity is our business, after all." She paused for a moment, and then grinned. "Besides, worst case, that which kills us only makes us stronger...I should know."

He chuckled. He had always admired the pluck of her and her more famous cousin.

Must be in their genes…

"You will have to contend with the eventual pressures of three lives...Do you truly accept?"

"Do you even really need to ask that?" Kara said with amusement. She nodded, a bright smile and excitement dancing across her face.

He lowered his hand and watched as the fade returned, accelerating.

He sensed His wife standing by His side, a quiet smile on Her face.

"Then, go, child, with our blessings...and our love."

She was fading ever faster now, but her smile was still lighting up the room.

His daughter disappeared in a final flash, but not before they heard her last, enthusiastic words...

"Thank you, Lord Rao! Thank you, Mother Nara!!"

Rao smiled softly. "We'll meet again, my dear. Make us proud until then."

Nara squeezed Rao's hand and rested her head on his shoulder.

"I think she'll do well this time...What do you think?"

He gently brought her about to face Him, and then gently kissed her on the lips.

He hesitated a moment, a smile crossing his face. "Well, considering her disposition, her heritage...AND her beloved cousin...she'll do remarkably well, I think, as well as she did before."

They put an arm around each other, and he continued. "Come on, I believe we have the best seats in the house."

They both went back to observing the planet...


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1 DOOMED-A RACE AGAINST TIME

He had checked the results ten times that day to reconfirm his results, each with samples from different areas on the planet.

There was no way around it. It still all boiled down to one word: doomed.

Millennia ago, it was a different story. Aside from the standard tectonic activity and sporadic eruptions from the various volcanoes, little thought had to be given to the core of the planet. Even composed, as it was, of uranium, it was still quite stable.

Until the Clone Wars...

And Black Zero.

The terrorist group, seeking to halt their society's dependance on cloning, had discharged a nuclear device into the planetary core. They had envisioned a prompt chain reaction and explosion.

_A proper penance to Rao,_ they thought, _for a race of remorseless murderers... _

They were quite stunned when they didn't get it then.

Unfortunately, Krypton's current generation was getting it NOW.

It takes a while to destabilize a core of a planet...especially when that core is the size of most planets itself...

Now a runaway chain reaction was steadily building in both pressure & strength. The great uranium core had now become a massive fission reactor...with very little to be done, short-term, to stop the ever quickening reaction.

Jor-El sighed and pressed the switch on the computer console. A beep sounded. _At least Zor-El will know what I know... perhaps my brother may gain additional insights on how to rectify this, he thought. Perhaps he has seen something or...sensed...something I have not._

Jor thought on his 3 cycle younger brother for a moment and shook his head in mild amusement. There were times when he wondered if his brother was truly born of the same father as he. Zor-El was quite capable in his chosen field...Krypton's deteriorating biosphere, and was quite well respected by the others in his field...

But he was so...emotional...

Jor thought of Seyg-El, their father, again with some amusement. Of the father's embarrassment of dealing with a 'wild child' that resisted proper training, but who still was one of the brightest on Krypton. In Jor's 32 cycles, he had been a challenge to his father, but not quite like Zor.

Zor had been collaborating with Jor for 5 cycles, slowly correlating and sifting through data.

Together, they had found a reason for the generation's worth of quakes, tremors, and the so-called 'Green Death' radiation poisoning that was affecting progressively more of the populace. Now Jor wished they had not. The unnaturally high pressures at the core were beginning to saturate the natural ore deposits in the subsurface strata, and were beginning to fuse them into a new set of radioactive metals. The truth was inescapable to him: 12, perhaps 13 more cycles before the runaway reaction and pressure in the core became just too much for the rocky mantle of Krypton to contain.

The brightest jewel in Rao's crown was now tragically flawed...

Jor-El stood and walked to his window, staring out at the golden spires of Kryptonopolis, gleaming orange under the light of its' red sun. He sighed again, this time in frustration.

_We cannot leave, either. Kem-L assured as much of us when he programmed that infernal cleansing device of his._

They had called it 'Eradicator', a machine to eradicate all alien influences from Krypton and to keep his people pure. With one detonation, as the legend went, it had altered the genetics of the populace, permanently tying them to the doomed world.

_In 13 cycles, _he mused_, it will be considered an eradicator again, barring a miracle from above...as it will be responsible for the death of all on Krypton._ _If our council had not banished Zem to the Phantom Zone, perhaps we could have…persuaded...the mad genius to reprogram that machine. Then, the only question would be "Where do we go?"_

Kelex, his mechanical servant, floated up to his master.

"Jor-El, you have an incoming message from Zor-El on the main system."

"Thank you, Kelex..." said Jor-El, as he turned and strode back to his monitor.

He toggled the viewer on. Zor-El appeared, unusually somber. He did not look...right...without that typical light smile of his.

"Good day on your house, brother."

"Good day on yours, as well. Zor, you received my data, I assume?"

"I did, indeed. Unfortunately, my findings still match yours..."

"How long would you say before critical mass is achieved, Zor?"

"I would estimate approximately 13 cycles."

"Have you come up with any other possible options other than the one we discussed earlier?"

Zor shook his head sadly.

"None that can be implemented in the time Krypton has left. The only individual that could have…WOULD have helped us, the geophysicist Jen-Em, succumbed to the green death two nights ago."

Jor silently swore under his breath. "Sheol...What do you think the council's response would be to my request?"

Zor shook his head. "Do you even need ask that question, Jor? Of COURSE not. They will NEVER ask the Oans for assistance. They, and their 'Green Lanterns', after all, are not of Krypton."

"We will have to do SOMETHING...ask someone for assistance, or else all we are will be no more in far less than a generation!" Jor-El spat. "At this juncture, we CANNOT afford to let our pride take its' path with us!"

He took a deep breath and composed himself.

Zor's smirk appeared.

"Perhaps Rao will perform a miracle just for the sons of El."

"Perhaps," replied Jor-El, stifling a sigh of frustration. "But I think Rao ceased listening to us long ago..."

The High Council had kept them waiting for well over two hours.

It was as if they were trying to test the patience of the sons of El.

_If so, they certainly are doing a masterful job of it_, thought Zor-El, irritated.

_Sheol, we should have thrown propriety to the four corners and gone to them directly._

The communications link suddenly came to life, confirming that Jor was on-line and his data for the council was waiting. Now all Zor could do was wait.

Twenty-five minutes later, his holo-screens came to life around the room, and the heads of the main ruling body of Krypton, the Council, shimmered into view. Zor pressed a toggle, connecting up, allowing his image to be seen in their chambers. Another beep, and Jor's serene visage appeared alongside his in the Council's chambers.

Councilwoman Zela was the first to speak.

"Good day on your house, Jor-El...and to you as well, Zor-El."

Both brothers responded almost in unison.

"Good day on your house, Councilwoman."

"What is this information that you feel is so important that we had to convene a special session of the Council?" Zela questioned.

Jor-El began, "I am uploading what we have to you now..."

A pause.

"We have received, Jor." Zela replied. She paused. "What is this? Geologic studies?"

Zor spoke. "Yes, councilwoman. As you may well know, my field is the study of our biosphere. Jor and I have been working on finding the solution to the quakes and tremors, which have been slowly increasing in magnitude all over Krypton for the past century."

Jor-El spoke up, "It turns out it was not merely the tectonic plates shifting, as initially thought, but something a great deal worse."

Zor pressed a toggle and brought up the hologram of Krypton. It rotated, and then split down the middle and opened, revealing the internal planetary structure.

The animation focused in on the liquid core and zoomed in.

Zor-El spoke, "What is causing these quakes is Krypton's core. It has been destabilized by Black Zero's hi-yield fission weapon from back in the Great War. They did not succeed then, but have induced a fission reaction that is rapidly running out of control, with no safeguards to check the reaction. To further exacerbate the problem, this fission is also responsible for the green radiation, which has been gradually poisoning us. The pressures that have been building have been fusing common ores into a new, radioactive metal. We have calculated that within twelve, at most fifteen cycles, this exponentially increasing reaction will produce stresses far too great for the mantle and crust to contain."

The holographic world reformed as a single unit again, and then detonated, producing massive shockwaves that pulverized the nearby moons.

Jor-El continued.

"This planet, and all on her, will be destroyed, unless we act NOW.

The only solution, as of this time, that we have found that is capable of stopping this reaction would be giant rods inserted evenly into the core from all around the surface. They would serve as the 'control rods', as in the Golden Age's fission power reactors."

The holographic cutaway world reappeared. Tunnels were created from the surface.

Thick rods were inserted into the roiling core.

It stabilized and quieted.

Jor-El continued. "...Unfortunately, it would still take us too long to create the rods and the machines needed to properly insert them into the core from the surface."

Zor-El shot a side glance at his brother's image, and then continued. "The soonest we calculate that we could create and insert enough of these rods to quell the reaction would be approximately 25 cycles..."

Councilman Yon-Ez, frowning, spoke up. "We…see. What do you recommend we do?"

Jor-El shifted slightly, nervously. "That is where the problem lies…As much as it seemingly goes against all we have become, we will need help to rectify this situation. The only way we figure to get this done in time is...to ask the Guardians for the assistance of their so-called Green Lanterns. If we were to get enough of them we could have the rods in place possibly within five cycles."

"Outsiders? No. Unacceptable."

Jor-El spoke up again, this time somewhat agitated. "Would you prefer death? To feed the Kraayn ALL who live on this planet? Councilman Von-Ez, there is NO OTHER OPTION available to us that is workable with the time allotted! We CANNOT do this ourselves with as little time as we have! If the reaction were slower or if we discovered it sooner, we would not need the help! As it now stands, however, I would think it obvious that if we do not move on this plan NOW, the core, uncontrolled, will reach critical mass in 13 cycles or less..."

He took a breath, calmed himself, and continued.

"Rao was once quoted as saying that only the arrogant or the insane do not need others' help. We are neither. PLEASE…All that we have learned...all that we were...all that we ARE, will be lost if our society allows its' fear of the 'other' to paralyze us in this way! We NEED to do this…and we NEED to do it NOW!"

Councilwoman Yara thundered, "SILENCE! Council members, you may vote now on the El brothers' request...

I vote NO. We must maintain our sovereignty..."

Councilman Yon-Ez spoke. "NO."

Yara: "NO."

Zela: "NO."

Sar-Aw: "NO."

Tava: "NO."

Bar-En: "NO."

Kon-Zee: "NO."

There was silence, and then Jor-El quietly spoke, fighting back a white-hot rage.

"You...with all of your cowardice...have just doomed ALL of us!"

Tava reacted with tightly chained anger as she warned Jor, "You would do well to remember who you are speaking to, Jor-El, son of Seyg-El. We did not choose to meet with you only to be insulted..."

Zor-El spoke delicately. "Tava, Councilmembers, please reconsider, Jor is correct,

if a bit...tactless. We CANNOT do this alone. We NEED to get this done NOW, and time is not in our favor. This is NOT a threat to our sovereignty. We cannot be sovereign if we are all dead. This, however, IS a threat to our very existence! The Oan's help is..."

Councilwoman Yara spoke. "The Oans are not your concern. We HAVE voted. You WILL abide by this ruling.

Good day on both your houses.

This session is adjourned."

The Council's monitor went off line.

Zor looked at his brother's image, at the smoldering rage still boiling

behind his carefully neutral face, and spoke.

"We had best start thinking of other options, as of now."

Jor-El touched his keyboard, disconnecting from his brother.

He leaned forward, cradling his head in his hands.

"They did not approve contacting the Oans, I take it, Jor?" said a soft female voice.

Lara, his mate.

"Kraayn take them all! No, Lara, they responded as we predicted, as we feared.

They are just like trained metal-eaters...so predictable, so cowardly...unable to think past the moment." He sighed, leaned back in his chair, and steepled his fingers.

"We are overly frightened of anyone who is not us. That sentiment has just sealed the doom of this world and all on her."

Lara thought for a few seconds.

"What of the Phantom Zone? Perhaps we could save pieces of our society, memory crystals, Battle Suits and such in there. Someone might find them in the future and know about our greatness after we are gone."

Jor-El pondered that for a moment, and then nodded.

"That would not be difficult, but obviously, my true concern is for our people..."

Lara looked at him for a moment, and then said,

"I was coming to tell you... Alura, Zor's mate, contacted me while you were in conference. It seems they have gotten to the top of the list, and the Council has given them permission to conceive a child."

Lara looked slightly pleased, Jor noted. "What gender is it? Male?"

Lara shook her head. "No, female."

Jor's face was as unmoving as a stone.

"She will be a blessing on the House of El...However long this house lasts."

He pondered for a second, and then his eyes lit up as inspiration struck.

"My thanks, Lara. Please excuse me. I have still a great deal to do..."

Lara nodded.

Jor-El watched as her lithe, regal form glided out of his lab. He toggled on the communicator to Zor's lab. Seconds later, Zor's image appeared. "Congratulations, brother, on your conception. I think I have an idea on how we may proceed..."

Zor had removed the matrix from the bank that day, and moved it to the banks labs. He told the bank head that he wanted to run tests on the blastocyst's genetics. The bank head was reluctant but conceded. Under the conception laws, he HAD the right to do so. He WAS the father.

Jor-El showed up, shortly after.

Nobody saw either of them till later that evening, when Jor left.

The matrix was returned, with no further comment, to the bank that night.

Working together, the brothers started to develop their desperate plan. It was decided that Jor, with his knowledge of genetics & biology, would try to locate, and then come up with a solution to the link binding the populace to Krypton. Zor would attempt to create a delivery system for a terraforming device. The plan was simple in theory, but complicated in execution. Considering the limited time they had, if this didn't work, there would be precious little time to enact their alternate plan.

Jor-El had promised to his brother that he would also work on the stardrive prototypes. He had not realized, however, that getting such a simple idea to work would be so difficult. The bits of information from the space age of Krypton, turned out to be less than totally accurate and greatly embellished over the centuries. Much had to be reconstructed. The cold fusion rockets, however, worked fine. Then again, they were being used in transports of all kinds to that day. It was frustrating, as in test after test, and each time, something else refused to work. To his credit, Jor kept at it, working like an obsessed madman.

Seven years had gone by since the conception of Zor-El's child, named Kara Zor-El, who was born healthy & well the usual year after conception. She was growing into an admirably logical child who seemed to pick up her lessons almost effortlessly. She also had an innate enthusiasm and curiosity about all things, which couldn't be quenched, but, thankfully, could be contained, Jor mused.

She also picked up her father's rather dry sense of humor. She was endlessly fascinated by the work that Jor was doing, and soon got into the habit of coming with her father to see how things were progressing on Jor's end. Thankfully for the harried scientist, she was also capable of very helpful intuitive leaps, which were helping Jor-El rapidly correct and refine the prototypes into properly functioning units. The first properly functioning unit was a star drive rocket section itself, meant to be attached to 'A certain payload, if all goes well', as Jor put it. Neither Kara nor Zor could coax any more information from Jor-El on that point.

Within three cycles, however, with his brother's input and repeated studying of various library tapes, Jor was rather surprised to find out that this supposed link was no longer valid.

Two more cycles of intense work had followed, as the brothers finished up testing on what Jor, in an ironic moment, had dubbed 'the Eradicator Matrix'.

_Finally_, he thought, _my niece and all on Krypton will be safe..._

It turned out not to be that easy. Two days later, Zor woke to the sounds of planetary alert alarms in his domicile. Rousing himself from his recovery bed, he rushed to his computer...

Bedlam.

Amid conflicting reports from the various Houses and the Council, apparently, an unknown assailant attacked Krypton with a robotic army, which ransacked the Great Library of Krypton, as well as attacked a number of the houses.

50 Kryptonians were missing. The House of Zod, in an attempt to locate the missing, dispatched rescue squads. Zef Im-Zod, the head of the House of Zod, had a vested interest, as his daughter was lost in the attack as well.

By the time defense forces were properly mobilized, it was far too late.

The invader was gone, with no traces left as to its' identity.

Zor noticed an alert light on his console.

There was an invader at Jor-El's lab. Security lockdowns were enacted.

Within minutes, his flyer was winging toward Jor's domicile at top speed.

Jor's domicile was in chaos when he arrived. Pushing his way (via pass-codes) into the lab, he stepped carefully around shorting computers and found his brother on the ground, blood trickling from his nose & mouth.

"Are you all right, Jor? What happened?" he asked as he helped Jor to his feet, looking around at the black scorch marks decorating the walls, and the four security drones, lying on the floor, reduced to so much scrap.

"NNNnnhhh... attacked...green and purple machine...threatened me...took my journals."

Jor got unsteadily to his feet, wincing at the bruises forming under his biosuit. Weaving slightly, Jor waved off Zor and looked around.

"No..." he whispered.

"Jor, what...?"

Zor didn't have a chance to finish when Jor picked up a floating chair and heaved it at the wall with a roar, sending up one of the undamaged computers up in a shroud of sparks.

Just as quickly, the anger left him, an expression of hopelessness settled over him, and he sagged to his knees.

"Hopeless...all for naught..." Jor looked around his lab dejectedly.

"Jor, what do you...?"

Jor pointed to an empty, ransacked corner.

"The Eradicator Matrix was there," he intoned morosely.

Zor took three deep breaths, controlling himself very carefully.

He reached out with his hand and squeezed Jor's shoulder. "Strengthen yourself, brother...It is time for plan two."

One cycle later, Jor had finished and tested the smaller stardrive unit. With the refinements and knowledge under his belt, he had now started on a larger variant. This rocket was as tall as three Kryptonians standing on top of each other, and had stronger liftoff engines. Zor-El stopped bringing Kara with him, and both men labored for the better part of each day. A medical stasis chamber, along with a nutrient feed system was delivered to Zor's house two weeks later. When she asked, Alura was simply told it was part of the brothers' collaboration. The transfer of heavy equipment to behind Zor's domicile soon became too much for his wife, however. Alura demanded to know what all the secrecy was about. Zor spoke with Jor-El, and they decided to bring her into the loop... The couple arrived at Jor's house two days later with their daughter in tow, and all disappeared into Jor's lab. Three hours later, mother & daughter walked out of the lab, fear written across their faces, not saying a word. Kara's eyes were red for days after that.

One cycle later: Jor was watching and listening to something intently on his monitor when the door to his study hissed open. Instinctively, he switched the screen to number & calculations. Lara glided in accompanied by a med-bot. "Jor-El, we have reached the top of the list. The council has given permission to us to have a child."

Jor nodded but kept silent. Since the attack, the Council had given permission to many families to conceive to make up for the fifty souls that had disappeared that day.

_Sheol_, he thought. _This goes from bad to worse_. The Council apparently wanted to keep up appearances. He KNEW they had not mentioned to the public what he and Zor had discovered…

But to bring CHILDREN into this world…and give them so little time to live seemed to him the height of irresponsibility.

Jor lay back on his rejuvenation bed and relaxed. He paused, and then rolled up the fabric on the right arm of his biosuit. The med-bot hurriedly began the cell extraction procedure. It finished with Jor-El, who got up off the bed and then watched as it repeated the procedure with the Lady Lara.

Three minutes later, it looked at Lara and announced:

"Congratulations, my Lady…It will be a boy."

Minutes later, it was on its' way to the banks.

Lara was about to speak again when an alert went off on the console.

"Over here! Brace yourself!" Jor ordered. He pressed a toggle.

The small stardrive in the corner had a strong casing of Kryptium steel iris closed around it.

Lara quickly glided over to him. Seconds later, a massive shockwave nearly destroyed the lab. The shaking lasted for a seeming eternity, and then silence again reigned. Lara pushed back her gold headpiece and whispered, almost in shock,

"They have never been this strong, Jor. We do not have much time, do we?"

Her eyes searched his.

He looked her dead in the face.

"No, my wife. The end is approaching ever quicker..."

Zor worked furiously. He had completed the gantry over the past year at the one nearby site that all his data said would be the most stable up until the final hour. His robots wasted no time in reassembling Jor-El's larger design. The nutrient tanks and the fuel tanks were being set up that very day. Judging from the frequency and severity of the quakes now, he knew that the brothers El had unfortunately been correct. The end was near. He had taken Kara out of schooling and brought her and Alura to the site. A small domicile was erected to house the family.

One week later, the day Kara had been secretly dreading finally came...

Zor-El entered his 12-cycle-old daughter's room.

"Come, Kara, we must see you off."

"Father?!"

"The ship is fueled, the chamber is ready...we MUST get you out of here, NOW! The eruptions are beginning to affect even this area."

Zor hustled his daughter down the ramp from his home toward the gantry. Alura was waiting at the site, which was literally humming with ten servant robots, all readying the ship and checking the flight systems. He paused, looking at the robots scrambling to finish the pre-flight checks, when he felt his daughter's shoulders shake. He looked down at her.

Struggling with her tears, young Kara watched the end of her family and her world approaching her at high speed.

Alura approached her only daughter, hesitated...

_Not now_, she thought, angrily_. I will not go to the next world without telling my daughter what she means to us…to me!_

...And reached out her hands to cradle her daughter's cheeks.

Alura felt moisture forming in her eyes, accompanying the aching of her heart.

Zor reached out his hands to his daughter's shoulders and turned her to face him. Looking into her teary eyes, he knelt in front of her, and then reached into his vestment and pulled out a gold memory crystal. Placing it gently in her hands, he said, "When you...miss our presence...just activate this."

He touched a side of the crystal, and a hologram of the three of them formed.

He touched it again, and the hologram turned off.

His vision blurred a bit with the tears he could not control.

He swallowed hard & blinked the tears away.

"We...will always be with you, in spirit." He hesitated, searching for the proper words.

"We have always been surprised, astounded and gratified by your gifts since you came to us."

Kara looked into her father's eyes and was, somehow, not surprised to see the tears forming.

She struggled to speak as her eyes did the same.

"Father...I...I...am thankful to be your daughter. I...have learned much from you. I do not want to leave."

Her mother spoke. "I truly wish we had that choice...It would be far easier on all of us."

Embarrassed, she wiped away the tears in her eyes and continued.

"But...what is, is. Rao blessed us with you, and now it is time to trust that he will put you where he needs you.

We want you to live. We want you to be able to live the life you have been given."

The final alarm sounded. All business, Zor-El stood, and wordlessly hustled his only daughter up the ramp and into the capsule, with Allura close behind. The robots moved in, connecting purge and nutrient lines to the chamber, and then attaching the mask to Kara's face. Kara looked as Zor-El smiled gently at her and gave her right hand a gentle squeeze. He watched as her eyes started to droop closed as the suspension gas began to press her body into a coma-like slumber. He paused for a moment, an idea forming. _Sheol...the end is coming...what difference would it make?_

He stepped back a moment later, as the canopy closed & pressurized.

The last Zor saw of his child was her still valiantly fighting the gas, struggling to keep her eyes open and fixed on them as her capsule pressurized. After a seeming eternity, the gas won its' final victory and the young girl's teary eyes finally closed.

Zor and Alura evacuated the launch area. The engines pressurized and went green.

He hesitated, and looked at his wife of many years. She stared at him, now standing in his bare black biosuit.

She thought for a moment, and then with tears welling again, she gave a faint, sad smile and nodded.

Ignition!

The giant gold and black rocket ignited with a thunderous roar, and then lifted off into the turbulent green skies. They watched as the rocket went into its' pre-programmed launch curve, just as the ground began to hum with the pre-shocks of a devastating quake.

Zor-El stood immobile, eyes fixed on the streak.

She was in Rao's hands now. _Guide her well, Lord Rao..._

_Please..._

They reached out and held tight to each other as the ground split open around them and a geyser of emerald radiation reached out to embrace them...

Far above, a hyperdrive activated, and a small craft carrying the Last Daughter of Krypton disappeared into hyperspace, its onboard computers directing it unerringly to a lush green world circling a bright yellow star 50 light years away.


	3. Chapter 2

CHAPTER 2: First Contact

As the star craft streaked through hyperspace, the onboard computer continued to monitor all systems. For the better part of the journey there was almost nothing to do, until, when the end of the journey was in sight, a problem arose.

A deflector screen flickered.

In normal space, this was not a problem.

Hyperspace, however, was a different matter. All hyperdrive ships needed powerful energy shields to deflect away any particles that, due to its' great speed would otherwise penetrate and destroy the ship.

The computer, its' quantum processors thinking at near light speed, recognized the danger and shifted more power to stabilize the shield...

Too late. The fading shield had partially done its' work, however, and this was the only thing that kept the ship from being destroyed. But the damage had been done. The particle, buffered & slowed, still tore into one of the four hyperdrive engines like buckshot. The computer tried to restore the engine, but it was gone...

With their brother removed, the other three engines, now out of balance, began to overload… the capsule beginning to oscillate. With no other alternative available that would not damage the capsule and the life form onboard, the computer shut the remaining three engines down and pulled the craft out of hyperspace.

Checking its' onboard star charts, gouts of flame emerged from portals on the ship's surface. Seconds later, the course was acceptable again. Aimed again toward earth, the computer ran a check on the shields again.

Found and fixed the problem. Ran a test. Functioning. Acceptable.

With that, it focused in on the imbalanced engines. An hour later, it had rerouted the drive energies and adjusted the engines so the Hyperdrive would safely work with three. It finished the rough 'patch' job and ran a final set of simulations. The engines would have to be carefully monitored and modulated, but, if run at half strength, they would hold safely for the remainder of the journey. There would have to be a minor diversion of energies from less-essential systems in the interior to compensate for a power unit also destroyed with the engine. With this, the computer activated the crippled drive system. It would be slower, and the engines would be put under greater pressure than usual...but barring any more failures, the occupant would reach the destination...

In twenty four Earth years.

SOL; THE MOON - JLA Watchtower - Earth Calendar date - April 2, 2003...

Kyle Rayner sagged in his chair.

He HATED monitor duty.

Especially on quiet days like this.

Kyle sat in the womb in the Watchtower. Looking down at his emerald ring, he sighed.

_Of all the things I can do with this ring_, he thought, _at times like this,_

_I wish I could turn invisible like J'onn does…or be able to do that disappearing trick that Bruce does so damn well. _

_I gotta ask him about that_, Kyle thought, and then thought of the likely response from Mr. Dour.

_Better not, _he thought, _…Bruce has very little tolerance for levity as is...I'd rather not encounter another one of his frowns. _

It was never said to his face, but one of the running cracks among the Watchtower's occupants was that a frown from Bruce could actually curdle milk and peel wallpaper.

Alert!

Kyle snapped back to attention, checking the readouts. A small ship had just appeared on the sensors at the edge of the solar system and was heading rapidly toward Earth. He pressed the communications toggle. "J'onn! We've got a ship incoming!"

He heard the reassuring Martian baritone speak in his head. "We will be in the monitor room in a minute."

True to his word, they appeared in the doorway 60 seconds later.

"Where is it?" asked Clark.

"It just passed Neptune."

Diana's soft Greek accent filled the chamber.

"How big is it?"

Kyle studied the monitors. "I'm reading 12 yards in length...Also... unidentifiable metal...massively hot engines..."

He paused. "I've got a visual."

The screens filled with the fuzzy picture of the vessel. Kyle took a moment to look around at his teammates.

He caught movement out of the corner of his eye, as the Dark Knight glided into view silently, right next to Plastic Man, who was surprisingly quiet for once.

_That's not going to last long_, Kyle thought.

He looked back, and happened to see Clark's eyes widen.

"Kyle, let's go!" Clark ordered, already a violet blur heading for the airlock. Kyle grabbed a communications headset and leapt into the air, his ring forming a protective green shell around him.

Seconds later, The Man of Tomorrow rocketed into space, followed closely behind by Kyle.

_Geez,_ Kyle thought, _what's eating his cookies?!_

"Clark! Wait up!" he shouted as he increased his own speed and willed his ring to follow the blur.

By the time Kyle caught up with him, Clark had caught the ship and was drifting with it, silent, and almost in shock.

"Clark, you O.K.?"

There was silence for a long moment.

"Yeah, Kyle, I'm fine."

Kyle caught the glint of sunlight off a canopy. He maneuvered himself around and looked down through the heavily tinted black canopy at the strangely dressed sleeping girl in the capsule.

Clark almost whispered, "Krypton. She's from Krypton. That's the body suit my ancestors used to wear."

Kyle squinted, and then 'ringed up a set of light augmentation devices. Suddenly, the inside contents on the capsule were as clear as day to the both of them. He looked at the sleeping girl's face and her strange dark blue over robe.

"She can't be much older than 14 or 15. How can she be from Krypton? It blew up, what? 30 years ago? You were the only survivor."

Clark stared at Kyle, in shock.

Kyle looked worried. "Wait...Are you SURE she's Kryptonian? Is there any way to check her bona fides? This might be a trick of Darkseid or one of those nuts..."

"Y-Yeah, good point." Kyle watched as Clark's eyes turned gold. He'd seen that look before. X-Ray vision.

A moment later he looked back at Kyle and shook his head, grunting in frustration. "Can't. The canopy is heavily shielded against radiation. I'm making out her general shape and nothing else."

Clark studied the ship with his microscopic vision and continued. "…Though if this IS a fake, I'll give whoever it is brownie points for using Kryptonian technology and alloys."

He paused. "C'mon. Help me guide this back to the cargo bay..."

The rest of the JLA were there watching when Clark & Kyle entered from the pressurized cargo bay, carrying the small ship like two construction workers carrying a long bundle of 2x4's. Very gently, they set it down. Clark started looking at the alien calligraphy decorating the ship. He paused, took a deep breath, and depressed a series of the symbols bordering the black canopy.

For a moment, there was silence.

Then...

PHHHSSSTTTT!

"OHMIGAWD, it's gonna BLOW!" Plastic Man dropped to the floor and shaped himself into a bomb bunker.

"Calm down, Plas." said Clark. "I've simply activated the waking subroutine..."

He trailed off & squinted, listening to the form in the capsule carefully.

"Her metabolism is picking up. She should be waking in a minute or two."

Clark reached out and pressed another glyph on the ship's surface.

With a quiet gurgling sound, the black, glassy canopy melted open.

Clark's eyes went gold again, looking down at his arm, and then the arm of the girl. He looked at Kyle and nodded. "She IS Kryptonian. The cells in her body are as dense as mine...and she has internal organs only genetic Kryptonians would have." Clark turned around to his friends and continued.

"Whatever you do, don't touch her unless she touches you first.

My ancestors were…isolationists, and didn't really encourage physical contact."

Kyle spoke. "Clark, what is the deal with the head-to-toe gown?"

"That's their life-extending biosuit, they were fitted with one upon birth.

They were created after the Clone wars ended. Up 'till that point, Kryptonians used to each have three grown clone bodies stored in banks, each at a different development level."

He frowned.

"They were basically used for replacement parts, to extend the original's life."

Diana grimaced. "That is horrible! How could they treat life so cavalierly?"

Clark again studied the sleeping form. "A LOT of them asked that very same question, Diana, which led to over a thousand years of warfare...and eventually to a nuclear discharge into the uranium core of the planet. That started the runaway reaction that eventually destroyed Krypton."

Bruce quietly spoke. "Two questions: What does this strip mean?" he said, pointing at the ornate silver pattern running down the front of her dark blue dress.

"And two: Why is there a second one in here?"

He gently reached into the capsule and pulled out a carefully folded burgundy bundle.

"Why there are two, I don't..." He reached out to Bruce for the folded fabric.

Clark let gravity unfold it.

"It's bigger than she is, so it's definitely not hers." Clark said with a light frown.

Bruce cleared his throat. "Clark, you didn't answer my question. I'll ask it again...What do THESE strips mean?"

He motioned with his hand in a sweeping gesture, indicating both garments.

"Sorry, Bruce…They indicate family lineage." Clark paused and finally took the time to study the details...and felt the blood drain from his face.

"My God..." he whispered.

J'onn spoke. "Clark, what is it?"

The Man of Tomorrow was silent for a few more seconds, as his gaze shifted from the cloth held in his hands to the sleeping form of the young girl.

He then spoke with a shaking voice, with tears rimming his eyes.

"Oh...God...She...she is a member of the House of El, like me..."

He paused and cleared his throat, looking down at the vestment hanging from his hands.

"The honorifics on this...vestment...indicate that this...was her father's..."

"A last gift..." Diana whispered, near tears.

"Indeed." J'onn stared silently, in empathy, as a silent Clark refolded the garment and draped it behind the opening. He stood there in silence for a moment, eyes closed, with his arms locked against the ship.

He felt a gentle hand on his shoulder.

"That isn't all. I know you, Kal, like few others do."

She leaned close, as he turned to look at her. "There is something else. I can see it on your face. What is it?"

Stunned, Clark stared at her with red-rimmed eyes, and then whispered, "Unbelievable…Diana...her father was Zor-El… the brother of my father, Jor-El. Her mother was Alura Zor-El."

He stared at the form in the cockpit with a dazed look on his face.

"Not ONLY is she a survivor of Krypton...but she's also kikra…my cousin..."

There was motion from the cockpit.

They all looked down as the form began to move.

She woke. Bright lights blasted into her eyes and she squinted.

A strange voice spoke, and then the lights dimmed. Blinking, she rubbed the last traces of the sleep from her eyes and looked around...

Aliens! A couple of them baring their flesh!

They all stood quietly, watching her.

She somehow sensed that they were not going to harm her, so she pulled off her mask, leaned forward and studied each of them in turn.

There was a big, muscled one with red eyes like a Haggereth demon and green skin. He was almost bare-chested, and wore blue boots and a cape.

There was a strange man with shiny skin, big black eyes and a red, lace up suit. He was changing his shape rapidly. _Very strange..._she thought.

She looked at the man next to him. He was dressed in a full suit, black & green, with a small, green mask covering his eyes and nose.

He had...she rubbed her eyes again, unbelieving. He had a green glow around him.

She noticed an emerald ring on his hand. Ah, he must be one of the Oan's soldiers...

I have heard tales about them...

There was a nearly nude female next to him, with black hair. She wore silver bracelets by her wrists and a gold, glowing rope hanging from a hook on the right side of her minimal costume. She wore a gold tiara with a red star in the center.

She almost missed him. He seemed to be blending into the shadows. Standing in brooding silence, he was dressed from head to toe in shades of gray & black. _At least this one is almost clothed properly! _She thought. He looked back at her with shadowed, white eyes and a frown on his face.

A chill ran through her body and she shivered...

She saw him last...But couldn't miss him unless she was blind.

Seeming to tower above the others, he wore the brightest costume…bright red, blue, and gold...red boots and a red and yellow symbol on his chest.

He radiated confidence like the sun.

_He...looks so much like Jor-El and Father_, she thought sadly. _The same chin, nose, eyes... _

She was startled out of her thoughts when he spoke to her...in Kryptonese!

"Are you all right? I am Kal-El. "

"I...I am fine. My name is Kara, Kara Zor-El; Kal-El, you said? You are from Krypton?

How came you here?"

"My father, Jor-El, sent me here before Krypton exploded."

Kara leaned forward, fingering the crystal in her hands.

"Jor-El? He designed this ship...with some of my ideas." she said with lightly concealed pride. "My father was his brother."

"Yes," Kal said. "I read as much on your vestments."

He paused, and spoke briefly with those strange others. He turned back, and, indicating the Oan soldier, said, "Let's get you out of there. My friend over there will lift you out." She startled as a glowing green mass materialized underneath her out of nowhere. It filled out and reshaped itself into a chair. Hesitantly, Kara reached out and felt the seat. Solid. Slowly, she sat back down. Kal-El shot a sidelong glance at the soldier, and spoke briefly.

The emerald chair slowly moved up, into the air, over the ship, and then touched down gently on the floor.

She stood up, and watched in wonder as the chair simply...disappeared.

She spoke again, "Kal, Is this Earth? My father was sending me to Earth."

"No." He said. "This is a station on Earth's moon. We detected your ship's approach from here.

Do you want to see the Earth?"

She looked up at him. "Yes, I would like that."

He led her over to a nearby portal. It was the most beautiful thing she'd ever seen. It was so wild looking, so primitive-looking…but yet so undeniably…beautiful…a sparkling blue marble with white puffy clouds.

She could SWEAR it was calling to her.

"House of my father…" she whispered.

How long she stared at the planet below she did not know, but Kal soon spoke up.

"Kara, I would like you to meet my friends and colleagues. Since they do not speak the language as we do, we are going to need J'onn's help." He indicated the green man with the red eyes. She shivered slightly.

"He is telepathic. If you allow him to, he will link our minds so we can all understand each other.

This is up to you, but it is painless, and nothing bad will happen." Kara looked over at him, silently standing there. She thought for a long minute, building her courage all the while. She could sense, somehow, that he was curious about her. Something deep within spoke to her, and said that he was safe. She gulped,

She took a deep breath, and then nodded, bracing herself for contact.

The 'touch' was so gentle she almost missed it.

It was only when the black haired lady stepped forward and spoke with an almost musical voice that she KNEW it worked.

"Greetings, Kara, from all of us. My name is Diana, but the people here call me Wonder Woman."

She responded respectfully. "Greetings, Diana. Permit me to ask...Why are you nearly naked?"

The soldier, Kal, and the green man all chuckled. To her credit, Diana responded with a straight face.

"I am an ambassador from my Earth country. This is my official armor."

"Armor? You are a warrior?"

"When the need arises, yes. But my true job is to teach peace, equality, and understanding among the peoples of the earth."

Kara, curious, pointed at the gold rope hanging by her side. "What is that for?"

Diana looked down, unhooked the rope from her costume, and offered one end for Kara to feel. "This is the Lasso of Truth. It can be a weapon, of sorts. Anyone I contain within it is compelled to tell the truth."

Kara hesitated, and then felt the proffered rope. Running it over her hands, She studied the gold links and felt the strange warmth that seemed to emanate from within it, gently reaching into her. "Thank you...that is fascinating." She gently handed it back...and turned to the big green man.

She swallowed nervously. "Who are you? Are...you an earthling?"

He smiled gently.

"No, child. I come from Mars, another planet in this solar system."

"My name is J'onn Jonzz."

"If you are from another world, why are you here?" Kara queried.

"There was an accident years ago, and a human accidentally transported me to earth. He died before he could send me back, so I had to stay and make a life here. I've since decided to stay here with my friends, and help them protect this world."

Kara looked around at the rest of them and was ready to ask why J'onn wore so little...

"Why do I wear so little clothes?" He looked at her, ruby eyes dancing under that brow of his, a smile tugging the corners of his lips. Kara felt her face flush, and she nodded silently.

"My designation on my home world was "Manhunter". It was a law enforcement job, of sorts. This is the uniform we wore."

"Wore?" she queried. "They do not wear that anymore?"

"No, they don't. My species was killed years ago. I am much like Kal and you, in that regard. We three are the last survivors of our worlds."

"You are alone, and then?" She looked at him and for a moment thought of her father and mother. She fingered the crystal, sadly, feeling that ache in her chest again. J'onn hesitated and then looked over to the dark robed one.

"No, Kara, I'm NOT alone anymore. My friends, here, have shown me that...and have become my new family." He looked over and said, "I think Green Lantern, here, is next."

The soldier with the ring stepped forward.

"Hey, Kara." Green plasma erupted from his ring, formed into a bundle of cut flowers, and zoomed up to her. She startled at the suddenness, and then calmed herself. Reaching out to the construct, Kara felt the flowers. Fascinating. They were as soft as she dreamed real flowers would be. She felt the stems...solid...WOW. She pulled back as the flowers melted out of her hands...and reformed into little cartoon people in bio-suits like hers. The little green people looked up at her and smiled.

"I can do almost ANYTHING with this ring...This is cool stuff."

"It...is cold?" Kara said, puzzled.

"Cold? No. 'Cool!'" is an earth expression meaning..." Kyle searched for words for

a second, "WOW!"

"Well, and then, I would say it is an appropriate word. Are you one of the Oan's soldiers?"

"One of? No. Right now, I'm the last one, the last Green Lantern."

"The soldiers are gone? What happened?"

Kyle sighed. "One of the greatest of the Lanterns...lost his home here on earth in a massive explosion...He asked the Guardians, in his grief, for help. The Guardians refused...and he ...snapped."

Seeing the puzzled look on her face, Kyle looked at Kara and clarified,

"He went mad. He tried to resurrect his city with the energy left in his ring, but it wasn't enough.

He went on a rampage and eventually destroyed many of the Corps...and all but one of the Guardians."

"What happened then?" Kara asked.

She slowly walked up to the man, and tried to look at the ring. Kyle held out his hand and let her look. She reached out with her left hand and felt the ring.

"He absorbed all the energy in the main battery on Oa, and, power-wise, almost became a god. He became obsessed with 'putting everything right'". Kyle continued. "He even tried to reset time itself."

Her head snapped up at this.

"Reset...time?! That is not possible! Legend has it that only Rao can do that!"

She looked over at Kal for confirmation, who nodded sadly. "It DID happen, Kara.

I was there. We thankfully stopped him before he succeeded."

"Uh, Clark? What's a Rao?" Kyle asked, puzzled.

"It's a HE, not an IT. Rao was the head god of Krypton, the father of almost all their gods & goddesses. He was the equivalent of Zeus to my people."

Kara listened quietly then interjected again. "What happened to him?"

"What?... Oh, he redeemed himself sometime later, with the Sun-Eater, a creature which was destroying our sun. Hal stopped it. He died doing it, though... as a hero...which was all he wanted."

He forced a smile. "I got the last ring, and have been working with the rest of the JLA since then."

"The J-L-A?" She looked puzzled.

"This group. It stands for Justice League of America."

She was about to respond when a red shape appeared in her face.

"AAAHHHH!"

Startled, she tripped on her vestment and fell backwards.

"PLAS! Will you PLEASE control yourself?!" Diana ordered, grabbing the stretching man by the neck and pulling him back. He pulled himself into a more 'normal' shape, and then slowly reached out two hands to Kara, with an apologetic smile.

"Sorry. I get a little crazy, occasionally."

She hesitated, and then reached out to the strange man. He gently clasped her hands in his and pulled her back into a standing position, and then released her.

"They call me Plastic Man."

"I would ask what you do, but I think my question has already been answered." she responded with a touch of sarcasm. "How did you get this way?"

Plas shaped himself into a man in a containment suit like hers and spoke. "Years ago, I was a criminal. I hurt people for money. But one day, all that came back to me. A special acid that got into my body through a cut in my skin infected me. When I woke up, I found that a local monk had tried to help me, and shortly after, I found out I was...this!"

Plas re-shaped himself into an ape and continued to pace rhythmically back and forth. A bemused smile started to tug on Kara's face. "I decided to try to go...on the right side of the law. Help people out instead of hurting 'em. With the help of some friends, I eventually became a hero...AND a member of this WONDERFUL club. It's my job here to keep 'em laughing!" He reshaped himself into an extreme caricature of Diana. Shooting eye daggers at him, she raised an eyebrow. and he, looking ashamed, slowly melted into a puddle on the floor. Kara was amused, and felt herself smiling. Seconds later Plas reformed, back in his normal shape again.

Kara heard a rustle and looked to her right.

The Dark Man with the frown was waiting...and watching.

He seemed ready to speak for a moment then seemed to decide not to.

Kal spoke. "Batman has been with us for many years." Kara looked puzzled.

"Bat-Man? Why is he called that?"

The Bat-Man looked at her and spoke.

"I named myself after a frightening earth creature that flies at night."

"Why?"

"Because, in my experience, criminals are a superstitious and cowardly lot. This..."

He spread his arms, and for a minute looked like some dark, man-sized monster with glowing white eyes.

"...is to frighten the criminals in my war on crime."

Kara gulped, frightened. "Sheol... It-It is effective in that, at the least. Wh...Why do you do this?" she stammered. "Why do you dress like this and fight crime?"

Batman hesitated, and then looked at Clark, who nodded encouragement..

"I do this...to make sure no one has to suffer as I did. I was 8 years old...when a criminal murdered both of my parents before my eyes for the valuables my mother was wearing." He paused, reminiscing, the pain of his greatest loss reflected in his stance. "That night, I SWORE on my parent's graves that no one would lose their family as I lost mine. For years after that, I trained myself in body and mind, honing the skills I would need to become a detective. I vowed to avenge their deaths by cleansing my city of the criminal element. I started working on my own, assisting the police force in Gotham then and have been doing so to this day."

Kara thought of her parents and felt the ache in her heart return.

"I...can understand something of how you feel. My last memory on Krypton is my mother and father looking at me through the canopy, just before they sent me here." The memories all came back, suddenly, and with renewed force. Her eyes began to water. She squeezed them shut.

"I-I wanted to stay awake until they launched me...but the gas was too strong. I never … never got...to wish them farewell." She felt hot tears running down her cheeks. Embarrassed, she turned away from the group, and took slow deep breaths. It was well over a minute before she felt she was under control and turned back to face them, but wound up looking down at the gold crystal in her hands. She pressed the switch, and the hologram came to life.

She stared at the picture of her parents, and the feelings hit like a train again. She fought to maintain control, but they would not be stopped this time. She gave in and sagged to the floor, weeping.

She felt a gentle hand on her right shoulder. Kal was crouched next to her, sadness etched across his face. "I feel that way at times...It was different with me, though. I never even got the chance to KNOW my parents. You said you worked with Jor-El on the ships... What was he like, Kara?"

She composed herself, and thought for a moment.

"Jor-El...looked SO much like you. You have his face with your mother's eyes and lips." She smiled sadly. "He was...unusual...he used to go and explore the 'dead zones' on Krypton. This usually upset his robot, Kelex, quite a bit as it was not considered proper or normal protocol among our people. He was also fascinated by the history of Krypton, and used to spend hours reading the archive files, and also studying how our house dealt with the wars. He was very focused his work; always proper and courteous when dealing with others. I admired that in him. It always seemed to come so EASILY to him... unlike my father or me. I felt a...deep connection to him. He took my suggestions seriously when he was working on the drives, even though I was quite young. I appreciated that." She paused and a slight smile creased her lips. He did show emotions, but rarely. It took quite the effort to get him agitated enough to show them."

"Lara was a quiet woman, graceful and light on her feet." The smile returned. "She did not walk in these suits...she glided. She was very proper, but she had humor too, very dry, but it was rare that anyone saw it. Jor-El & Lara were good people, however, and I could tell that they both had...feelings for each other. They found it hard to express, however. Krypton was not as emotional as your people appear to be."

She paused, and noticed that the rest of the Justice League had quietly left, leaving the two of them alone. She looked around, shocked. There's no 'Plastic Man'. _Strange_, she thought_. I didn't think he COULD be quiet!_

"You seem to be more emotional than I expected, Kara." Kal replied.

Embarrassed, Kara's face flushed.

"I apologize. I did not wish to offend..."

"No, Kara, I'm not offended," Kal replied gently. "It's just that...all the information I've learned indicated that my people were cold and unfeeling."

Kara replied, "My father was like...this, too. He was a respected biosphere scientist, but found it difficult, even while growing up, to be as detached emotionally as Jor was naturally. He tried his best to conceal it from others, but it seemed to come to the surface despite his highest efforts. It took a large number of cycles, but he eventually accepted that this is how he was. My mother, Alura, gradually got used to it, and eventually felt comfortable enough to show some of her feelings, as well." She paused. "We…as a people, were not machines…however, emotional display was not deemed proper or seemly…so all made an effort to keep ourselves under control."

Kal spoke with a smile. "Many people on our adopted world down there are very emotional. Feelings are not 'frowned upon' here, as they were on Krypton. In fact, you will most likely have to release them...bring them to the surface, so you can assimilate into the cultures better."

She shivered slightly. "That's...strange. SHOW what I feel? That's not...right."

He looked at her, thought for a second, and then replied. "We have found that if the feelings are strong enough, and you hold them down, they STILL will come to the surface...whether you like it or not, usually with far greater force than expected..." He pointed to the crystal Kara cradled. "What you felt before proves my point." He reached out, asking with his eyes if he could hold it.

She nodded, mutely, and handed it to him.

He paused for a moment, looking for...

Ah! The hologram hummed to life. Kara looked at it again, sadness in her heart.

Kal spoke gently. "If anything else, think of it as a validation; a validation of how much they cared for you and how much YOU cared for them. That aching in your heart is the sadness you feel because you loved them and you miss them. That would be better than not feeling anything at all, right?"

She thought for a moment then quietly nodded. He turned the crystal off and handed it back to her. She was about to speak again when her stomach beat her to it. Kal smiled, and then stood. "I think that means it's time to get you your first earth meal. I'll show you to the kitchen." He reached his hands down to her and helped her to her feet. They started walking, back around her ship, and toward one of the entryways that bordered the chamber.

Kal halted her as they approached the ship.

"Hold out your hands." With a questioning glance, she complied.

"We found this inside the ship when we opened the canopy."

He deposited the burgundy garment in her hands.

She unfolded it and stared at it for a full minute.

"Father..." she whispered, crumpling the fabric as she brought it up to her face to catch the tears that fell... Her only thought for the moment was the fabric in her hands, even as she felt Kal rest his hands on her shoulders.

"Keme ko shema Rao-sem vo che seemhal..."('May All-Father Rao guide you to the House of Honor...')

she whispered, and then turned to him and buried her face in his chest.

"I …" She choked. "I…am sorry for this..." she whispered.

Kal was silent for a moment and gently hugged her. "Don't be. Let it out. He was special to you." He heard her sniff and hiccup a few times, and then, composed again, she straightened and looked up at him.

"What...what can you do?" Kara said. "All of your...associates..."

"Friends…" corrected Kal.

"...your FRIENDS" Kara continued, "...have unique abilities. You are dressed in a brighter uniform than the rest of them. What abilities do you have?"

Kal paused a second, and then looked at her with a smile in his eyes. "I can show you if you let me."

She nodded. He scooped her into his arms as if she were a feather. "Hold on around my neck." he said.

With a questioning gaze she did so...then reacted in shock as she noticed they were whistling down the corridors...

His feet were now far behind his head, his body flat.

NOTHING was touching the ground!!!!

Her hands tightened around his neck like a pair of vice-grips.


	4. Chapter 3

He set her down in the kitchen, which took a couple minutes since he had to gently peel her arms away from his neck. A pair of pliers would have been easier to remove.

"I'm sorry, Kara," he said with amusement. "but you DID want to see what I could do."

She shot him an annoyed sidelong glance, and then sat down in one of the chairs he pulled out for her.

"...As for what else I can do..." he said, searching the refrigerator. He straightened. "Ah! This'll do."

He pulled out a flat food in a metal dish out of the device.

"Feel this pie." he said, placing it on the table.

Kara looked at it. _What a HORRIBLE looking food!_ Hesitantly, she reached out and felt it anyway. _Cold...Interesting texture, though._

"Now watch my eyes, and then feel it again when I say so."

She nodded. Looking intently at the pie, Kal's eyes turned completely red for a couple of seconds,

then went back to normal. A strange, but...appealing...odor filled the air.

"Okay, feel it carefully now." Kal said.

She reached out, and then yanked her finger away... OW!

"How did you do that?" she asked. "It looks like you heated the pie...by staring at it?!"

Kal nodded. "It's what I call 'heat vision'.

It's one of MANY abilities that I have...and that you WILL have in a couple years."

She looked stunned. "How is this possible?"

"It's in our genetics. Our cells absorb the rays of the yellow sun of this system and give us these and many other powers. We are basically living solar batteries. It started with me many years ago. I started seeing through solid walls first, and then my speed increased tremendously...Then the greatest thing happened...I found I could fly through the air like a bird!"

Kal got a sharp object and cut two pieces out of the pie, and then went and got plates. He put a piece on the plate and handed it to her. She looked at it in revulsion, as if it were nibbling on her fingers.

Kal handed her a fork, which she examined curiously. Showing her how to hold it, he dug into his piece.

"It isn't going to BITE you." He said with a smile. "This is what we call 'cherry pie'.

Kara took the fork, and used it to work a small piece loose.

Hesitating, she brought it to her mouth, braced herself, and then popped it in.

_Not...unpalatable_, Kara thought as she chewed.

Kal watched with amusement as she dug in with more enthusiasm...

It took about another hour, but he gradually introduced her to a number of the more basic earth foods.

She was not too fond of the nuts, as she thought they had too bland a flavor. Vegetables were fairly well received, and in particular, she favored tomatoes. There was nothing on Krypton that looked or tasted like tomatoes, so she considered it a treat, of sorts. Bread was considered strange and bland until Kal showed her how humans livened up the taste by putting edibles between two thin slices of it.

When she asked Kal why these foods were so unprocessed and presented in such a primitive fashion,

he reminded her that earth society was not as advanced as Krypton's in many ways, but that there were advantages to NOT living in a totally climate-controlled environment. Kryptonians, he said, had long separated themselves from the 'good earth' of their planet. That had accelerated their cultural and emotional isolation.

It was her next question, however, that nearly knocked him out of his chair.

"How long have you ruled over these people?"

"Why...do you assume that I rule over this planet & her people?" Kal asked.

"Ours is the grander society and the greater technology. You have the powers of a god, and are dressed like one. Why would they not serve their betters?" Kara asked.

_Hoo boy, _Kal thought, _her adjusting is going to be harder than I thought._

He paused and was about to respond when a flicker of movement caught his eye.

Bruce.

This is going to be interesting, he thought.

She nearly jumped a foot in the air when the grave voice spoke.

She spun to face the Bat-Man, who was standing quietly by the wall, staring at her with those unnerving white eyes. He still frightened her.

And much to the surprise of both her AND Kal, he spoke in Kryptonese.

"Their BETTERS...fought well over a thousand years of warfare. Their BETTERS lived...no…_EXISTED_ in their towers, in isolation from each other. Their BETTERS refused to ask for help from ANYONE, DESTROYED their OWN PLANET, and, in the process, your OWN mother and father as well!"

Kara looked as if he'd just slapped her across the face.

Undaunted, The Dark Knight continued, but his voice softened a bit.

"Technologically, Kara, YES, we may still be primitive, but I want to ask something...

Whose planet has fared better? Which world's people learned the art of cooperation…of negotiation? Which people can still live their lives, move forward and make a difference in their world and their universe?"

He stopped and looked at Clark. He hesitated, and then spoke again.

"I have worked with your cousin for the past 15 years. He and I don't always see eye to eye on methods and techniques, but each of us has studied and respected the other. I have noted many unique things about him since we first met, one of which is: with all the god-like powers at his disposal, it is his PRIMITIVE, human qualities that he has used the best, and that have made the BIGGEST difference in this world."

"My gift is fear. His is encouragement. He helps inspire the people of this world through his actions and words where he can. He inspires them…and the JLA as well…to do better…to push **_harder_** to create a more equitable world. His greatest gift is the ability to fire the imagination, and encourage each person to help play their part to make that better world."

Kara somehow found her voice and her courage and spoke.

"Wh-What about you? Does he have an effect on you?" she inquired.

He paused again, surprised at her forthrightness, and nodded, almost embarrassed.

"He does. My world is dark in many ways…and I can get wrapped up in things a bit too much at times. Clark is always willing to deflate my ego when necessary…"

Clark felt his jaw drop but was too thunderstruck to pick it up.

Moments later, he finally found his voice. "Br...Batman...When? How…?"

"When did I learn your language? Do you really need to ask that?"

Bruce favored Clark with the slightest of smiles.

He turned back to Kara and continued.

"It's NOT powers that makes a 'GRANDER' society, NOR is it technology. The human parts…the heart and soul of each individual is the ONLY thing that can do that. Anything else is a fabrication."

Bruce turned around and headed for the door, noiselessly. At the frame, he paused, turned back and said, "We have a saying here...'What gaineth a man to win the world entire, but to lose his soul in the process?' Your ADVANCED culture left us some of their technology, but seemingly lost their souls in their journey. When a threat arose that would affect ALL of them... did they join together? No. If ANYTHING, they went in the opposite direction, each becoming their own little world. Science and technology has got to be guided by wisdom and compassion, or they otherwise invariably lead to ruin." He paused for a moment.

"Hrm. At least they saved the two of you, so ALL of them weren't THAT lost."

He looked at Clark and spoke in English. "Clark, the Watchtower scans are positive...She is genuine.

Body density match to yours is in the 99.98 range. Congratulations."

He paused, and then spoke in Kryptonese. "Incidentally, Kara, welcome to earth."

With that, he was gone. Kal looked at Kara, who was silent and staring at the folded vestment on the table, lost in thought.

Kal was cleaning up when Kara spoke again.

"What is your world like? Can I see it?"

Kal shot her a grin. "Even Batman couldn't dampen your enthusiasm, huh?"

She spoke quietly. "He made...much sense, and gave me much to think about."

Kal hesitated for a moment, and then looked at her and said, "I don't view myself as a god or better than anyone else because that's how I was raised. A farmer and his wife found my capsule after it crash-landed on earth. I was raised as a human initially, with the belief that if I have these powers, they are there to help me make a difference in this world. I wouldn't be comfortable being treated as a god."

He hesitated.

"Besides...I once DID try to control the world."

Kara was suddenly all ears.

Kal continued, somewhat uncomfortably. "This villain, named Dominus, manipulated my dreams and preyed on my fears of not being able to protect everyone. I got to the point where I had robots patrolling all over the earth. It took someone I loved DEARLY to break through to me again."

He stared at Kara soberly.

"Ruling this planet was not as glorious as it may first appear..."

Kal cleared his throat and changed the subject.

"If you're up to another adventure, we can go see the world."

She stood up. "Yes, please!"

Kal smiled. "All right...the transporters are this way!"

It was two minutes before the nausea passed.

Kal looked embarrassed. "Sorry, Kara. If you are not used to it, the transporter does tend to induce some nausea. I think it was made worse by the food you ate. We should've given you far less to begin with...maybe stuck with liquids. Are you alright now?"

She took one last, deep breath. Her stomach FINALLY calmed down. She nodded.

"We're going to fly. Let me know if the nausea comes back."

Kara nodded again.

Kal scooped her into his arms and slowly took off into the sunny sky.

She wrapped her arms around his neck and watched.

"This is the Amazon Rain Forest. This is thought of as the 'lungs' of our world, as most of the carbon dioxide from our exhalations is taken in by these trees."

"Can we...see them from the ground?" Kal smiled, and swooped down to the ground.

Kara walked up to a tree and gingerly felt the bark, and then squatted and examined a nearby fern, getting her hands wet. She then hesitated for a full minute, seeming to wrestle with herself, and then slowly reached out with a grimace...

And dug her hands into the soil.

Kal was stunned but kept silent. The grimace faded, and was slowly replaced with facination, as she felt the coolness and consistancy of the soil. She closed her eyes to focus more on it. She then spoke enthusiastically. "I read information on the trees and plants of Krypton in my studies. They spoke of vast gardens that the Fourth Age grew...but I never thought I would experience them personally."

She opened her eyes and looked at the area surrounding her.

"Tell me, Kal...do these come in small sizes?" Kara indicated the fern, and then the tree.

He nodded. "This is only the tiniest SLIVER of the diversity of plants that live here. A lot of people actually grow small versions of the ancient Gardens of Krypton, for decoration, shade and food. The 'tomatoes' you tasted before came from a plant. The cherries for the pie came off a special tree. The bread came from ANOTHER plant called 'wheat'."

Kara stood up. Quietly taking in the towering trees above her, she began to walk, observing everything she could. She stopped short and closed her eyes again. A slight smile crossed her face, as she stood in one of the warm sunbeams making its' way to the surface.

Kal watched her with amusement.

She might adjust to her new home easier than I expected, he thought...

She was stunned by the sheer amount of water, as most of the seas on Krypton had dried up in her time, and were only known as they were then in study crystal holograms. She felt Kal's body rotate, and they descended.

He landed on a sandy boundary in contact with the water.

"This is a place called the Bahamas. This is a popular beach site for humans on vacation."

Kara looked puzzled. "Vacation?"

"People have daily tasks here which can be stressful. A vacation is a chance to get away from their tasks and to relax for a certain period of time. They can return to work relaxed and refreshed."

She nodded. That is what those beings at the far end of the beach and the water were doing. Relaxing. She felt an urge to touch the water, which was stopping just short of her feet.

_N-No! There are too many people around. I must not lose myself as I did in the...forest._ _Though_, she thought,_ the sensations there were not unpleasant..._ Kal resolved the problem for her. He reached down, cupped his hands, and gathered a bit of both sand & water and offered it to her.

She refused to touch it.

Kal looked at her with sadness and spoke. "Kara, to be blunt, you are going to live on this planet for the foreseeable future. I realize this is somewhat uncomfortable to you considering how you were trained on Krypton, but you are going to have to start adapting here & now, to start blending in with the people of this world, or you will ultimately be FAR MORE uncomfortable than you are right now."

"But...what would they think...what would father and mother think of me behaving like this?"

"If, like my father, Jor-El, they sent you to safety, they did so out of an emotion called LOVE...for you. They may not have been able to identify it as we can, but it was there nonetheless. They would, out of this love, want you to live the life you have been given." Tears started to burn in her eyes at this, Embarrassed, she turned away from Kal and looked out to sea.

Kal's hands gently turned her back to look at him. "What is it?"

"Your words..." she whispered, staring at his belt and reaching for a control that was no longer working.

"Those...were the last words mother spoke...'We want you to be able to live the life you have been given.'

When the tears came again, she didn't have the strength to resist.

Kal stood there and held her as she cried herself dry...

It was three minutes before she finished, and pulled back, frustration and embarrassment writ large on her face. "Why is it SO hard? I never had this problem before. I could control myself well..." She looked down at the beach, squatted down and picked up one of the rocks there, examining it in her hands.

She couldn't decide whether to study it or throw it.

Kal thought for a minute and said, "You grew up around mostly emotionless people. That would make it easier to control your emotions than on a planet..."

Kara finished his thought for him, "Full of emotional people..."

She sighed in anger, and clenched her hands...

KKKrracckk!

She looked down at the hand that HAD held the rock. Fragments now.

"K-Kal? That rock was...defective, correct?"

Kal shook his head, a somber look on his face. "I'm glad we got this out of the way NOW. This is an example of your tremendous strength. You, like I, have GOT to be VERY gentle in how we physically contact others at ALL times down here.

Krypton had gravity about 16 times that of earth. That led to our ancestors' bodies developing very dense muscles, bones & skin. This enabled our people to just survive on Krypton, but here..."

Kal led her over to a huge rock outcropping facing the sea. He reached out with both hands...

And effortlessly hoisted it into the air.

He put it back down and said, "You try it."

Her eyes widened like saucers. "I can't lift that, Kal!"

Kara...Try, for me."

She gulped, frightened. She took a few deep breaths to steady her nerves…

Then reached out and grabbed a hold of the boulder...

It went right into the air with no effort.

Shaking slightly, Kara set the boulder back down. She took a couple deep breaths and calmed herself somewhat. She paused and thought for a moment.

Squatted down on to the sand.

Then leaped up.

And up.

And up further.

She looked at the beach far below, and at Kal rocketing up to her...as she started to fall.

He caught her and lowered her back to the beach.

Next to two footprints a foot deep.

Kal looked at her and smiled.

"Yep, that also means we can leap about an eighth of a mile straight up."

"Are our lungs as strong?"

Kal nodded.

She turned toward a palm tree and took a deep breath.

Then blew out through pursed lips.

The palm tree nearly bent over double, as if it was in the gale-force winds of a hurricane.

She stood there stunned and pale.

"Wow..."

Kal cleared his throat and spoke. "These powers, once you are all charged up, are a BIG responsibility.

If you use them well, it will make your life and the lives of others a good deal easier. If misused..."

Kal trailed off, looking out to sea.

"I used to read illustrated stories as a child here, Tales of heroes and villains. We call them comic books. One of the heroes had a simple mantra that impressed me, a simple truth that guided his life since he got his powers, 'With great power comes great responsibility.'

I've ALWAYS tried to keep that in mind."

Kal thought for a moment, and then looked at her and spoke. "On a different note, you have spent the first part of your life training and honing your logical faculties and hiding your emotions. Now it's time to balance them out by exploring the intuitive and emotional side of yourself and see what wisdom that brings you.

You have the chance that only the two of us, out of all of Krypton, got...

To reach past the fear of the 'other', and the fear of emotionalism which helped kill our homeworld, and allow yourself to grow into the best you are able to."

"Kal, I feel a ...coldness...in my chest when you say that... What does it mean?"

"Fear. Fear of the future, fear of the unknown."

"It..is NORMAL...to feel this?"

"Occasionally, yes. It can either immobilize you so you can't act, or it can be an incentive for great personal growth."

Kal was about to speak again when a round, red, flat disc landed in the sand by Kara's feet.

Two young men in swimsuits ran up, apologizing.

"Geez, Superman, We're sorry, man..."

"We didn't mean to..."

Kal put on his biggest smile.

"Guys, it's no problem. Don't worry about it. You didn't interrupt anything. We were just talking."

Kara reached down and gently picked up the disc, curious. "Kal, what is this?"

"It's a flying disc. It's used for exercise and entertainment." He thought for a minute, and then turned to the men. "Gentlemen, I'd appreciate if you would play a short game with us. The young lady is a relative of mine and is new to the planet."

The men looked at each other and answered in unison.

"Hell, yeah. For you, Superman, no problem!"

"Kara, remember...GENTLY." She looked somber and nodded.

It took all of two minutes for Kara to understand how to throw the disc.

She threw it too weakly a few times, missed catching it once and caught it with her stomach, and then got down how to catch it with her hands. Kal got a glimpse of her during the game and was satisfied.

She was smiling.

When the game was over, one of the guys asked Superman what her name was. He translated to her and she shyly replied, "Kara." Kal spoke to them briefly in the earth tongue and they nodded. They reached out their hands to her one at a time and introduced themselves.

"I'm John."

"I'm Mike."

She looked baffled for a second until Kal explained, "This is a form of greeting here. Reach out with your right hand, clasp theirs VERY GENTLY!, and move your hand up and down." He spoke to the men again, and the one called John reached out to Kal and shook his right hand. Mike followed suit a couple seconds later.

Kal looked at Kara, who nodded. The hands reached out again, and this time, each in turn was shaken, VERY gingerly. Kal looked at her and spoke, "Now try to match what I say as closely as you can." She nodded.

"Nice. To. Meet. You. Both."

"Niic Tooo Met Yuu Buth."

"Try it once more, Kara, you almost got it."

"Nice. To. Meet. You. Both."

"Niice. Too. Meet. Yuu. Both."

They both lit up with radiant smiles. Kara felt her face getting warmer than usual. Kal spoke with a proud smile. "Congratulations, Kara. That's your first greeting in English!"

After the men left, Kal looked at her and spoke.

"Well, what did you think of the experience?" She paused, gathering her thoughts. "It was...entertaining. They were quite...handsome."

Kal's face split wide with that wonderful boyish grin again, and Kara blushed, embarrassed.

"It was also...quite hot." she said, wiping her hand against her sweaty face.

Kal smiled. "Now you see the advantage behind their mode of dress. I'm getting a bit warm, too. Let's fly. That'll cool us down."

Kara nodded.

He scooped her up and took off into the air.

"The wind is quite cooling." Kara said, and then her attention shifted further down the beach.

"Kal, why are they lying on the beach like that?"

"Kara, that is called 'sunbathing' down here. They enjoy soaking up the sun, as we do, but where we gain abilities, they just get fashionably darker skin."

"Why?"

"Their skin produces a substance to protect itself that also darkens the skin's surface."

"Why is it...fashionable?"

"People think that they look better and healthier with darker skin."

"Are they?"

"Do they look better? That's up to your personal preference. Are they healthier? Not necessarily. The skin's darkening is a protection against the sunlight, but if they stay out for too long...Their skin burns painfully, gets very sensitive and peels off their body in sheets. We call it sunburn." Kara grimaced.

She looked back down at the beach. It must be...nice...to rest like that.

She sighed.

This 'experiment' is going to be a challenge to see through to completion...


	5. Chapter 4

Kal set her down on a hill after they'd been flying for a while. "Kara, I want you to meet two important people to me, but we're going to have to fly fast to get there safely. To keep you from getting windburned, I need to cover you with my cape, okay?" Kara nodded. Kal handed her his cape, which she wrapped like a shawl around herself. She looked at him with a questioning glance. Kal nodded. "That's fine. Are you ready?"

She nodded again.

Once again, she was scooped into his powerful arms, her face facing his neck. A second later, she felt the pressure of the wind against her as he sped her to the destination. This continued for what felt like a minute, her time, and then ceased. He lowered her to the ground, and retrieved his cape. As Kal did so, she got her first glance of her new location. Verdant green fields, dotted with tall, healthy trees surrounded her. She was on the front steps of an old building. She looked around. To her right, she noticed another big old building with a big primitive door on the front.

Kal let her look for a second, and then spoke. "This is the farm I was raised on."

Kara looked at him. "Farm? What is that?"

"Remember when I told you that we have plants that produce edibles?" She nodded.

"Well, this is one of those places where they are grown."

Clark spun as Martha Kent came to the door. "Land sakes, Clark, who's your friend?"

"Believe it or not, Ma...She's my cousin, Kara...from Krypton."

"From Krypton? Clark, we thought you were the only survivor." Jonathan Kent walked up and placed an affectionate arm around his wife's waist.

"Up until today, Pa, I thought I was, too. Do me a favor, say your first names only and shake her hand, gently. With the exception of one English sentence, all she can speak and understand right now is Kryptonese."

The Kents nodded. Clark turned to Kara, who was now curiously watching the chickens fight over the feed.

"Kara, I'd like you to meet my adoptive parents." She looked back and noticed the white-haired couple that was looking at her curiously.

The male spoke. "Jonathan."

His mate spoke. "Martha."

They then both stuck out their hands. Kara gingerly shook Jonathan's warm hand, and then Martha's.

She stopped. What did I say on the beach? Ah!

"I'mm Kara. Niice. Too. Meet. Yuu. Both."

Both the farmer and his wife broke into smiles almost as big as Kal's.

Kara smiled in relief.

Kal spoke again. "Let's get in the house." She followed them into the domicile.

"Clark, ask her if she wants any juice to drink." Martha hustled to the refrigerator.

Clark looked at Kara. "Are you thirsty? We have juice." Kara looked at him with a question in her eyes until she saw Martha setting a pitcher of orange liquid on the table, which Jonathan helped himself to, pouring it into a smaller glass and drinking it. Clark put a glass in front of her and filled it halfway. She reached out cautiously, grabbed it and sniffed it.

_That's a strange odor...not unpleasant, though_. She took a small sip and felt a tart, cold sweetness cascade down her throat. _Hmmm...pleasant_, she thought.

Kal spoke. "That is orange juice. We got it by squeezing the juice out of a couple of these." He handed her a round orange fruit.

She examined the fruit, noticed the connector at the top. "This grows on those trees?"

Clark nodded.

"How do they form?" Kara asked. She took a larger swig of the juice, and then finished off her glass. Jonathan refilled it for her. Kara nodded her thanks.

Clark spoke. "They actually start out as flowers. A certain insect then pollinates them. The flowers wither and drop off and the fruit grows. Once it reaches a certain point, the fruit is picked and sent to market or to a company, where they are juiced."

"Clark?"

"Pa?"

"Why is she wearing that suit?"

"That's what the Kryptonians wore to extend their lives, after the clone wars ended."

"Isn't the dear hot in them?" Martha asked.

"Probably, Ma...but she isn't likely to like the idea of changing them now."

"Maybe you could create another...at that Fortress of yours." Pa Kent interjected. "You've talked about your robot...Karex, that was a copy of the one your father had. Maybe he can create a modifed suit. Make it a bit easier for her to get around..."

"Kelex, Pa...But that's an idea..."

Kal told Kara that he had to get something from his other house and that he would be back briefly. He almost LITERALLY disappeared before her eyes.

Amazing, she thought. To think I'll be able to do that someday...

She looked over as Martha came in with two big books and set them on the table. Opening them, she pointed to the old pictures of a dark haired baby and said, "Kal." Kara looked at her and nodded. They flipped through the pages, stopping at one with baby Kal sleeping next to another sleeping animal. She pointed at the animal with a question on her face.

Jonathan was the first to respond.

"Dog."

Kara responded. "Dog."

The both smiled at her. _Not too bad_, she thought.

"Rus-ty." Martha Kent said, still pointing at the dog.

Kara looked at her, baffled. Martha thought for a minute.

She pointed at herself. "Human...Martha."

Jonathan spoke up and pointed to himself. "Human...Jonathan."

Martha spoke again, this time pointing at Kara. "Kryptonian...Kara."

Kara thought for a second, and then it hit. One...'Human'...was a general description. The second word was the proper name of the person or thing.

Her face lightened. "Dog...Rusty!"

They both smiled and nodded.

I'll get this language down yet, Kara thought with a small, satisifed smile.

Kal returned a few minutes later with a strange device in his hands. "Kara, could you please stand over here for a minute, with your arms straight out?"

"What is that, Kal?"

"A scanning device. It'll scan your physical dimensions and allow my robots to produce an updated bodysuit for you. That'll make it easier to get around in the earth's climate. Besides, much more sweating, and your gonna have another super power...Super-Body Odor." He grinned.

Kara nodded and stood still as the gold strobe beams slowly moved up and down her body.

"Kara, please turn around." She nodded and faced away from them. Again the beams strobed up and down, but this time, ended with a beep.

Kal spoke into the device. "Kelex, do you have the information?"

A mechanoid voice spoke from the scanner, "A-OK, Big Blue...It's all here. It's gold. We're slammin' on it now. Should be ready in an hour! Beep ya then!"

Then silence.

Clark sighed. "I really shouldn't have let Nat rework his response circuits..."

For the next hour, they all looked through the rest of the family albums. Clark translated Kara's questions into English and his parent's questions into Kryptonese. Jonathan and Martha even learned a couple of Kryptonese words themselves. Martha also showed Kara how to work the LexMart InstaMatic Camera. Kara was facinated by the primitive device and loved taking pictures. Martha made sure to put a couple of those pictures in her albums. In the middle of this, Kelex called again, letting Kal know that the suit was done, and to his specifications. He spoke to Kara and then left the house in a blur minutes later.

It was about this time that Kara noticed an uncomfortable pressure in her lower body. She shifted in her seat uncomfortably, not finding any relief. If anything the pressure became worse. Martha looked at her, concerned. "Kara...You...Good?"

"No, Martha. Pressure here...What…?"

Martha stood and beckoned Kara to follow her. She led her to the bathroom and showed Kara how to use the toilet. To her relief, that removed the pressure.

"Kara...pressure there...body waste...remove."

Kara nodded. Her attention and fascination were drawn to the simple but effective mechanics of the house's waste removal system. Martha walked over to a nearby cabinet and pulled out a nappy white rectangle of cloth, and then walked over and turned on the shower.

"Get you...clean, here." Martha gestured at the running water.

Kara was a bit reluctant at first, but eventually gave in, as she was feeling rather...sticky.

By the time she finished and dried herself off, she noticed that her old suit had been quietly replaced with the new body suit, along with a bandage next to it, apparently to protect the biosuit's cranial interface points while they healed closed. Examining it further, she realized that Kal had removed the dark blue outer vestment and silver lineage strip and integrated it into a new,lightweight catsuit. Putting it on, she realized a few more changes. The suit now had separate, form fitting upper and lower pieces. The upper 'shirt' stopped at her wrists, the bottom at her ankles. She now had separate but comfortable form-fitting boots. The top of her headpiece was now removed, as was the area at the base of the neck.

Kara dressed, and then stepped out of the bathroom and went back to the...'living room'. Kal was on the couch with his Pa, talking with Ma, who sat across from them in a small chair facing the hallway.

"She's done." Ma said.

Both Jonathan and Kal turned to look. "You look very nice, dear. Do you feel better?"

Kal stood and translated.

Kara nodded. "Yes, many thanks. This feels more comfortable than the original biosuit." She appraised Kal, who was now dressed in a white T-shirt and a pair of jeans.

"Why are you not wearing your suit? You look...strange without it."

"I wear that only when the world needs me as Superman. I wear normal clothes to blend in and relax." He continued. "I hope you didn't mind. as I indicated before, I had Kelex change the bodysuit design a bit to give you more mobility. If Plastic Man startles you again, you're not going to trip over the hems on this one!"

"Why all the changes?" Kara asked.

"For four reasons: One - Just in case you want to feel grass against your bare feet or run your hands under water as you experiment-this will make it easier.

Two- You are going to have to gradually start wearing a more 'earthy' style of dress. This is the first small step toward that goal. When you are READY, we have a blouse and pants that you can wear, but for now we decided that that change would be too much at once for you.

Three- Most people have hair down here. Those openings in the headpiece will allow your hair to be out in the open once it grows in."

Four- You will be eating solid food from now on. This food is not as efficient as the pills you grew up on. You will have to... remove the waste. This setup will make that easier."

Kara looked at Martha with amusement on her face. "I experienced that, already, Kal. VERY uncomfortable. Your waste removal system is rather primative, but it nonetheless seems quite effective." She then noticed the sun casting patterns of light in the room as it set. She went and looked out the back door... To a kalidescope of oranges & reds, framing the orange setting sun. Tears filled her eyes as, moments later, she was suddenly back in her room, staring out the window as the mighty star Rao set for the night...

"House of my father!" she whispered.

Martha was the next to speak, hesitating slightly, using the few Kryptonese words she learned that day... "Kara. Hungry are you?" Kara turned, smiled slightly, and nodded.

Martha spoke again, looking at Clark. "Clark...How...I...do?"

Clark went over to his mother and kissed her on the cheek. "For your first tries at an alien language...I'd say pretty good." He turned to Kara with a smile. "What did you think?"

She responded with a small smile. "Her phraseology is a bit off, but not bad for her first tries. Why does she call you Clark, Kal?"

"It's my earth name… they gave it to me when they found me and I became their child. Out of my costume, the world knows me as Clark Kent. You'll probably find that it's necessary…you can't be a superhero 24/7."

"Oh." She quietly followed them into the kitchen, and she now noticed the delightful odors. "What is that? It smells wonderful."

Martha decided to give the Kryptonese a breather for the moment. "Ravioli."

"Ra-vee-oo-li." Kara repeated. She took a deep breath of the exotic melange of smells permeating the kitchen. A rather loud growl sounded from her stomach. Embarrassed, Kara said to Kal, "These foods are all so strange...such a variety in texture, flavor, color...Krypton had nothing like this. Everything was processed and optimized into nutrient pills. Quite different. That said, I have to say I think I prefer the strange food HERE."

Clark relayed it to his parents, and then responded. "We have pills here, but they're vitamin or mineral supplements. I can't imagine 'eating' like that every day." He laid out four plates, and then knives & forks. His head perked up as if listening. "Be right back, Ma." Clark disappeared from the room. There was silence for 30 seconds, and then Clark was back in the kitchen in his suit & cape. "Ma, I have to pick up something else up at the Fortress...I should be back in less than 20 minutes."

Martha nodded. "It should stay warm until then, but don't dawdle." Clark nodded, and then vanished.

True to his word, 19 minutes later, he was back in the kitchen carrying a small, rather strange looking gold device.

"Clark, what's that?"

"Ma, this will hopefully help Kara pick up English a bit faster. It's been unusually quiet today, and knowing the way things go, it's unlikely to last long. Without this, if I'm not here, you, Pa and Kara are not going to find it easy to communicate. This will minimize the communications problem." Kal turned to Kara, and replayed what was just said. Studying it gently, Kara asked, "How does it work?"

"From what Kelex said, just put it on your head before you go to sleep tonight, turn it on with this switch..."

"Ah...it feeds me the language subliminally during the night when I'm most receptive."

Kal nodded, took the device back, and put it on the counter.

"Clark..."

"Ma...?"

"When she's done with it...could it be set up to work in reverse?"

"To teach you Kryptonese? Yeah, I think so...Shouldn't be a problem...but WHY?"

"Since we found you, you've been learning about OUR people, OUR culture, OUR language. Your people, with the exception of Kara, are no more..." Martha hesitated, flushing slightly. "I'm...just curious. I'd like to learn more about the world you left behind...The parents...the language. The few words I've learned seemed easy enough to pronounce..." Martha trailed off and looked at Kara, who was studying the big pot on the stove. "It also might help me help HER feel more at home here. That's all she spoke until she had to leave Krypton and her parents..."

Clark reached over and hugged his mother with both arms. "Ma...thank you. I think she feels so ALONE, so lost. Her emotions are giving her fits, too. That WOULD be a big comfort to her." He hesitated. "Enough talk. Let's dig in...I'm hungry!" He disappeared before Kara's eyes for a moment, reappearing a second later in the T-Shirt & jeans. He pulled out Kara's chair and gestured her to sit down. She did so just as Jonathan put the big metal drum with the ravioli on the table. Martha set down in a small pitcher of bubbling hot red sauce. The Kents took turns ladling the ravioli onto their plates. Kara followed suit, putting two onto hers. _My, this is the STRANGEST food I've seen yet_. she thought. She looked over at Kal, who was pouring the red sauce over his and moving them around until they were fully covered. He then dug into them with relish. Kara picked up her knife and fork and mimicked Kal's actions on one of hers. She cut through it and saw whitish...stuff in the middle. She looked back to see him looking at her again with mild amusement.

"What is this...stuff in here?" she asked.

Clark chuckled. "Don't worry...It's a form of food we call cheese." She hesitated, and then took her first bite. She closed her eyes to better focus on the sensations and flavors. _It's rather bland_, she thought_, but not horribly so_. She opened her eyes and reached for the red sauce. Poured a small amount on her plate. Mixed the other half in it. Put it in her mouth, closed her eyes and chewed_. Wow. The sauce makes quite the difference. Adds almost a bit of bite to it._ She opened her eyes and saw all three of the Kents looking at her with smiles on their faces. She felt herself blush again.

"Well?" Kal prodded.

"It is rather...bland...plain, but the red sauce helps add spice to it."

Kal nodded. "Tomato sauce."

"Wasn't one of the first foods you introduced me to a tomato? I rather liked that, but this sauce tastes quite different."

"It has other ingredients in it, Kara, besides, it's made of a different variety of tomatoes than the one you tried earlier."

"Oh." She reached for more sauce and covered the remaining ravioli thoroughly. Attacked it with gusto. Then reached for the big pot again.

Ten minutes later, her stomach was letting her know, in NO uncertain terms, that if she took ONE more bite, it was all going to come up as fast as it went down. She decided to quit while she was ahead.

Martha spoke, again in Kryptonese. "Kara...You full?"

She nodded. "I am." Clark stood up, brought his plate to the sink. Kara followed suit, watching as he filled the sink with hot soapy water, cleaned his plate, rinsed it, and then set in on a wire rack to dry. Kara was about to do the same when Kal spoke. "Roll up your sleeves or they'll get wet." She hesitated, nodded, and then rolled up her sleeves. It took her all of 5 minutes to wash and rinse her plate. She and Kal then went back and took care of Jonathan & Martha's. Another twenty minutes and they were all done in the kitchen.

Kara yawned and looked at Kal. "What are we going to do now?"

"I think it would be best if you went to bed. You look like you could use some sleep. You can use my room. I'll be at my other house tonight."

They led her upstairs to a midsize room, with pennants on the walls. Martha went and turned down the bed. Her shoes came off, the activated headset went on, and she got under the covers. Kal went and lightly pecked her on the forehead. "Goodnight, Kara. Sleep well. If you need anything, Ma & Pa are just down the hall. Hopefully, you'll be speaking a new language tomorrow." She nodded. He went to the door, and switched off the light.

"Kal?" a sleepy voice said.

"Kara?"

"Thanks to you for the day. It was...fun. And I am...happy...that I am not alone anymore..." With that, sleep claimed the young Kryptonian. And Krypton's Last Son stood there watching her with a smile on his face and tears in his eyes...

_Neither am I, Kara. Thank you, father...Thank you, Zor-El._


	6. Chapter 5

She was dreamless for the better part of the night, but her mind had to have its' say, whether it was being tutored or not.

Flash...

She's looking thru the canopy glass at the regal Zor-El and Alura. She can hear the stasis gas hissing, and smell its' sweet odor. She fights to keep her eyes open... "Mother! Father! No! I do not want to leave you!" The lifting engines power up. Tears fill her eyes as the gas forces them shut... She forces them open to look at them once more... Zor-El hugs his wife Alura, struggling to stay erect under the assault of radiation poisoning. The proud, brown-haired man, clad in a suit of green and red, presses a switch and she hears, "Your ship...is aimed for the planet Earth! Farewell, Kara!" Alura, clad in blue and white, struggles to keep her feet. "Carry us in your heart, daughter! May Rao guide your path. We will be with you always!"

"Mother! Father!" Her blue-clad arms press against the canopy. "No! I don't want to leave you!"

She feels the rumble of the hyperdrive engines as she's shot free of the force dome and the green doom.

"They're all dying! I-I'm an orphan of space now..." Her eyes swim with tears.

Flash...

The stone columns whip by her in a blur. She homes in on the scream's source. Frantically, she enters the stone room. She sees Kal torn and bleeding in the corner of the room, a dark metallic shape hovering over him like the Kraayn, the legendary angel of death on her world. He looks at her with black pits of eyes, no feeling, no soul, just a lust for death. He then speaks to her with the gravelly voice of the Kraayn itself.

"You...rush madly into death. I swear, though, it will come first, for this one who you call cousin, and then you and the rest." A reddish beam from his hand slams into her chest and knocks her into the stone column.

She struggles to get up.

The madman turns to her and continues. "You will be together only in the mists of eternity."

"Uhhh...Leave...HER...be! You're NOT done with me, yet!" Kal struggles to his feet, painfully...and launches himself at the monster.

The gravel-voiced monster replies, "Wrong...You are QUITE done." In slow motion, she sees the horror unfold, but her arms and legs are leaden. The monster levels his hand...and blows a hole in Kal's abdomen.

NO!

She's cradling the dying body in her arms. Staring down at his blonde hair, trying to hold back tears. "Pl...Please...Please stay with us, Kal." Struggling to speak with the blood filling his lungs, Kal says: "I...can't. I...I love you so much for what you are. For how...good...you are..."

He sags.

"Kal! Kal, No! Don't you dare leave me alone!"

She holds him to her chest and screams in rage at the top of her lungs.

He's...gone! I'm alone! The only survivor!

No! It's...wrong! It's not supposed to happen this way!

It didn't happen this way!

The fear, loss and pain overtakes her.

"NOOOO!"

The battlefield drops away in a swirl...and she wakes with a jolt.

Motion in the hall, and then Martha rushes in. "Land sakes, Kara, are you all right?" The tears come even harder, but the words now came in English, even as Martha embraced and comforted her, looking down at the two fist-sized holes punched in the bed...

"I could not help them! I could not save ANY of them! Why? WHY?

With no answers, all Martha could do was rock and comfort her.

Fifteen minutes later, Martha sat at the kitchen table, a mug with warm milk in front of her, and one in front of Kara. "What is odd, Martha, is the second scene WAS NOT me...but it was, somehow." She sipped her milk and, confused, struggled for the words. "It...felt...like it HAD happened, like I was there...reality. Mother and Father were dressed gaudily...they had hair and no bio-suits. They did not ACT right, either. They acted affectionate toward each other, as do you and Jonathan. But it did not diminish my pain at leaving them at all." She sat quietly and sipped more of her milk, lost in thought. "Maybe the best way to describe it, would be: two of me doing the same thing in different ways."

"The second sequence was even MORE disturbing. I was flying through some stone castle, trying to get to a metal monster, a death-bringer, in time. Kal had just screamed in pain. I find the room where he is. He is laying in a bloody heap on the floor in front of this...thing. I try to stop him, but he blasts me back- ward. Kal gets to his feet, and tries to tackle him. The monster blows a hole through Kal...Then leaves." Her eyes tear up.

He's dying in my arms. I'm looking...at his blonde hair, as he tells me, "I love you...so much for what you are. For how...good you are..." Then he dies in my arms, and I'm screaming in grief at the top of my lungs, afraid and alone. The one thought keeps coming back to me: This is NOT how it's SUPPOSED to be!" Kara, red-eyed, stared at the table. Martha paused, handed her a tissue and said, with tears in her eyes, "He DID die once." Kara looked at Martha wide-eyed with horror.

Martha told her the whole story. The monster. The ferocious battle to save Metropolis. His death and burial. The replacements. Jon's heart attack and revelation. Coast City blown up. Clark's return. The villains defeated. Martha paused after she finished the tale, and then spoke again. "Kara, some people down here believe that dreams have hidden meaning that may be of value during your waking hours." She finished her milk, got up and went into the hall. She came back a minute later with a spiral bound notebook and a pen. "Take this and keep it with you from now on. If you wake up as you did tonight, write down what happened. Perhaps it will make sense in the future. You can also use it as a journal, if you want."

Kara nodded, finished her milk and took the offered book. "It was said in the history records that the people of Argo City in the Fifth Age were masters of what we called DreamWaking. It was a form of self-hypnosis before sleep set in. The information on that was sparse, though. Much was lost in our wars. From what I understood, if you did it correctly, you would be concious in the dream and be able to interact normally with the characters in it."

Martha nodded. "Lucid dreams. That's what we call them here. A few of my friends in town have had them. They've told me that all they did was to tell themselves before they went to sleep that they were going to dream that way. It's happened to me occasionally too." Martha smiled. "One time, I was able to will myself to fly through the air, like Clark does. So real...It was wonderful! I do envy you both a bit in that regard. I'd imagine that is a dream of almost every human on this planet. If you can dream like that, it might be helpful to ask questions of the characters in your dream."

Kara quietly took it in and nodded. "I would like to go back to sleep. I am sorry, Martha, for waking you." They both stood up. Martha guided Kara out the kitchen doorway as she switched off the light.

"It's no problem, child. Heaven knows the number of times we did the same thing with Clark when he was growing up. If you get married, you'll probably do the same with your kids." Martha stepped in the room and turned on the lamp's night light by the bed. Kara got into bed with her notebook. "Sleep well, dear..."

A pause. "Kara, one more thing..."

"Yes, Martha?" Martha paused, measuring her words. "Down here, a lot of us believe in a heaven where our dead loved ones watch over us...If it counts for anything, I think your parents are there now...They KNOW how much you loved them and how much you miss them. I believe that they'll always be watching over you with love and pride...and someday, you'll meet them again." Kara looked at Martha, tears rimming her eyes and nodded. "'Night, Kara."

"Good-night, Martha...Thank you." Martha went down the hall. Kara looked at the notebook for a long time, and then opened it to the first page and started writing in Kryptonese shorthand. She finished thirty minutes later, put it aside and went to sleep.

The rest of the night was dreamless.

Kara woke up to a shaft of sunlight resting across her lower face from the part in the curtains. She turned the headband off, removed it, and then went to open the curtains. She stood there, with her eyes closed for seemingly an eternity, just enjoying the warmth and the light. She paused a second, and then removed her headpiece. Mmmm. Better, she thought, and continued to revel in the warmth.

Until something rubbed against her legs and nearly frightened her out of her mind. Looking down she saw a orange haired, four legged animal with triangular ears making a vibrating sound and looking up to her with gold eyes. Kara squatted down and observed it closer. It put its' front feet on her right knee and stretched up to sniff her face.

Jonathan's voice rang out. "Morning, Kara. I see you've met our cat, Streaky."

"Why do you call it Streaky?"

"It's a he, and look at the white shapes on his body."

She looked at the jagged white streaks running the length of his body. "Oh." Seemingly of their own accord, her hands were gently massaging Streaky's head and neck. The vibrating sound grew louder. "Why is he making that noise?"

"He's purring, Kara. It's a sign of affection...You took off your headpiece?"

"Yes, Jonathan. I wanted to feel the sun on my whole face. It...hindered...the feeling."

"Well, when you're done here, we've got breakfast ready downstairs."

"Thank you, Jonathan. I will be down shortly."

"And Kara..."

"Yes?"

"Please call me 'Pa'. Clark does. You can call Martha 'Ma' if you want."

"All right...Pa."

Kara entered the kitchen a few minutes later, followed by a little orange shadow_. He must be attracted to me_, she thought. _Not sure why, though_.

"Mornin', sleepyhead!" Martha chimed in.

"Good morning, Ma."

"You get back to sleep all right? Any more dreams?"

"No, after I wrote it and some other thoughts down, I went right back to sleep. I do not recall anything happening."

"You slept like a log." Pa replied with a twinkle in his eyes.

"Like a...log? How do logs...?" She studied his face. Ah, an idiom. "Yes...yes, I did, Pa."

"I see your hair is starting to grow in." Martha responded as she continued setting the places at the table. She stopped and lightly rubbed the golden fuzz on Kara's head. "Why did your people make you shave that anyway?"

"We did not...that was one part of the suits' two part repression function. Hair was not deemed necessary or desirable."

"What was the other function?" Martha asked curiously. "Hormonal modulation. It prevented the biological urges to copulate." Martha stared at her, in shock.

"One thing I never understood, the way Clark described it, Kara, is why your people treated yourselves like you did?" Jonathan cracked his egg open and continued. "I mean, to have everyone isolated from each other, repressing your emotions and drives, and living on logic like that guy on that TV show, while doing nothing every day...that sounds like a HORRIBLE way to exist."

Kara looked at Martha and raised her brow. "Guy on TV show?"

Martha nodded. "Yep. Character was an alien. Pointy ears and eyebrows, lived on a spaceship. I forgot his name. As I recall, his people embraced logic to quell their emotions. Very much like your people. Their planet had higher gravity, like yours, too. I think you'd find it interesting, but, getting back to the point, dear, why DID your people isolate yourselves?"

Kara thought for a moment, and then responded. "They taught us that 'Proximity breeds conflict.' After 1,000 cycles of the Clone wars, which decimated most of our planet, we thought if we minimized our contact with each other, we'd minimize chances of another war."

Jonathan looked at Kara. "I always thought that was so sad. Your people were so far ahead of us, science-wise, and had so much potential still, but couldn't seem to figure out the basics, how to forgive each other, move on, and work together...the stuff spiritually related."

Kara nodded sadly. "From what little I've seen & heard, your people seem to have that down for the most part. Living while suppressing your...feelings takes a great deal of focus. After a number of years, if you are successful...you feel the...stirrings... but can no longer identify what they mean." She saw Martha's face crease with horror and empathy but remained silent. Kara continued. "None of us DARED to rebel against the prevailing mores, overtly, since they DID seem to work...We were NOT at war with each other anymore. Besides, no one wanted to have the Council call out their enforcers, the House of Zod..." Kara shivered in memory. "It was uncomfortable, though. and there was a constant aching and emptiness inside that I thought couldn't be filled. Once I got here, though, the aching disappeared almost immediately. I still feel guilty, though...I feel more at home HERE, than I ever did on Krypton."

At Martha's beckoning, Kara sat down and waited to see what she was going to eat now. Martha came by and put a half of a large round fruit on the plate. Martha spoke. "This is a sweet grapefruit. I have one with my tea every morning." She dug her strange spoon into the fruit, and withdrew a bite-sized pink morsel. Kara followed suit and dug in... SPLISH! Pa Kent tried to hold it back, but couldn't. He erupted in laughter as Kara wiped the juice from her face. Ma shot him a look and went over to Kara with a towel. Kara accepted it and wiped the juice off her face. "I'm sorry, dear. I should have told you that if you dig into these fruits the wrong way..."

"They fight back?" Kara responded dryly.

Ma smiled. "If it's any consolation, dear, it's happened to me MORE than once..." She shot Jonathan a side-glance and continued. "With the same results. You just have to dig in at the right angle." SPLISH! Jonathan Kent wiped the juice from his shocked face. Martha's eyes danced as she threw him the towel. Kara giggled. A couple minutes later, Martha had showed her how to cut into the fruit to avoid getting sprayed, and Kara was savoring her new experience with her eyes closed.

She spoke a minute later. "Not bad, but I think it is a bit too tart for me. I think I prefer the oranges." Two minutes later, Martha had shown Kara how to 'unwrap' an orange, and Kara attacked it with gusto. Martha retrieved the semi-mutilated grapefruit and finished it up. The next treat for Kara was the hard-boiled eggs. She found it acceptable, with an interesting flavor. Lastly, she tried oatmeal. Aside from its'...gross...appearance, she quite liked it. When Ma sprinkled some cinnamon on it...it was love at first bite.

She finished up the bowl just as she felt two little paws on her thigh. She looked down at Streaky. "He wants up," said Pa. "Just pull your arms away from your thighs, and drum your hands on the tops of your thighs like this." He demonstrated. Kara nodded and did it. FLUMP! Kara had to move her head back to avoid the orange tail that swept across her field of vision. Streaky settled and started moving his paws up & down. She looked at Ma, questioning.

"He's 'kneading' your lap. He's making himself comfortable...like you did in the bed last night." Kara nodded and looked down at the now very content feline, who had settled down and was purring throatily with his eyes closed. Again, Kara found herself running her hands through his fur. "Try scratching his belly and under his chin with your fingers." Pa suggested. Kara did so, and the purring became even louder. Streaky snuggled down even deeper._ It's like he's trying to merge into my legs_, she thought curiously.

"He seems to like me."

"Yes, he LOVES Clark, too, when he's home." Pa said. "I think Kryptonians have a somewhat higher standard body temperature then humans do...For him, you're a wonderful source of heat."

There was a rush of wind outside, and Clark stepped in, cape and all. "Morning Ma, Pa...Kara?!" She looked back at her cousin, asking a question with her eyes. "I-I'm just surprised to see you without your headpiece this soon."

"I felt the sun on my face this morning, and it felt...confining."

"Hmm...Anyway, I spoke to Wonder Woman last night, and she invited you and I to Paradise Island."

Kara looked puzzled. "That would be her homeland?"

Clark nodded. "Yep. Up until recently, It was an island that was for and of females only. It's been recently changed to a teaching center for the world and beyond, with the assistance of her Gods. I mentioned that you are fascinated by a great deal down here and you seem to hunger for more experiences. This would be one of the best places for them."

"Yes..." Kara replied. "There is SO much to experience down here. Right now, I almost would welcome two more of me."

"Join the club." Clark responded with a wry grin. "A lot of people here feel the same way. Especially me. Anyway, she said that you would be welcome to stop by for a week or two to explore and learn from their libraries as well as the way they live... That is, if you WANT to go."

"By all means!" Kara responded. She looked down and thought for a moment, and then gingerly clasped Streaky in both hands, lifted him from his bed in her lap, and lowered the relaxed feline to the floor. Ma Kent gave Kara one of Clark's old knapsacks for her pen and journal, her headpiece and teaching device...and a few items of clothing for when she was ready. Kara promised to come back and tell about all she experienced. She and Clark stepped out onto the porch...and were gone in a moment.


	7. Chapter 6

Kara was looking into the wind as best she was able, looking for the shape. "What are you looking for, Kara?"

"The Triangle you were talking about."

"Oh...The Bermuda Triangle isn't a marked area, it's a notorious section of ocean."

"Why?"

"A large number of many types of earth vessels tend to disappear in this place...without a trace...with no apparent reason. Some believe its' cause is supernatural in origin, other think it's caused by alien abduction. No one knows for sure." Clark slowed slightly. "Ah, we're here!" She looked...and almost couldn't believe what she was seeing. It was seven smaller greenery-covered islands surrounding a larger central island, floating over the water. Translucent blueish silver buildings of different shapes blended neatly into the landscape.

"WOW..." "

Yeah...I'm still awed by the beauty of this place." Clark went into a leisurely spin, flying all around the islands, showing off their total beauty. He drifted near one of the waterfalls to the ocean, and she felt seaspray against her face.

"Clark, These buildings looks so much like the ones of Krypton's Sixth Age that I saw in my studies...They are so beautiful..."

"No argument there, Kara. As beautiful as the people that live here." Clark looked over. "Ah, there's Diana now." He approached one of the smaller islands, and landed in the middle of a green field. Kara slid from his arms.

"Kara, you've met Diana before." Kara nodded, and then reached out her hand. Diana looked somewhat stunned but shook it gingerly. He turned to Diana. "The introductions are all yours."

She smiled and nodded. "Thank you, Kal." She turned to a regal lady with dark cocoa skin. "This is Chancellor Phillipus. She is the head of our government here." The beautiful lady smiled at Kara and extended her hand. "I'm pleased to meet you, Kara...Diana has been talking a great deal about you for the past day." Kara blushed slightly, and shook her hand. "Thank you, Chancellor."

Phillipus turned to her right and pointed out another raven-haired woman. "This is Donna Troy. She's also called Troia."

"You look rather like Diana. Are you two related?"

Donna nodded. "Yep, she's my sister."

Phillipus then gestured to her left. A blond haired girl about Kara's age stepped forward. "This is Cassie, who's known as Wonder Girl." Cassie studied Kara quietly for a moment and then extended her hand with a smile. "Nice to meet you, Kara. Just one question. Why are you bald? Why no eyebrows?"

"They have not grown in yet." Kara responded, flushing slightly.

Clark interjected, "Cassie, she's one of my people, from Krypton. Until yesterday, she was wearing a bodysuit that stopped hair growth. Kryptonians had no use for body hair."

"One of your people? Last I heard, you were the only survivor."

"That's what I thought, too, until yesterday. Apparently both of our fathers had other ideas."

Cassie's eyes widened. "Wow. She's gonna have ALL your powers?!"

Clark grinned. "Yeah, She'll be wrestling Diana before too long."

Diana raised an eyebrow and smiled at Kara. "I look forward to that day. I always have enjoyed a challenge."

Clark hesitated, and then pecked Kara on the forehead. "I have to go. If you need me, Kara, both Diana and the Chancellor know how to contact me. Enjoy yourself."

Kara gave a bright smile. "I will." With that, the Man of Tomorrow took off into the azure sky.

Phillipus silently watched Kara as she watched Clark fly off. "Amazing, Kara, isn't he?" Kara turned and looked at her. "All that I've seen him do...is beyond words. To be able to fly on my own...would be a-a..." She paused, searching for words.

Cassie finished for her. "...A dream come true, right?"

"Exactly." Kara said with a smile.

Diana spoke up. "We noticed that you two were flying around, studying our buildings... would you like to see them up close?"

Kara's eyes widened. "Yes...By ALL means!"

Kara had never walked in all her eleven years on Krypton the distance she did that day. She hardly noticed, however. She was rapidly lost in the beauty and the history of the islands.

They avoided one island, however, and when she asked Diana why, she was told that it was a prison for one of her greatest enemies. "Circe. She is a sorceress of unbelievable power, and a murderer many times over. She particularly enjoys changing people into animals."

Kara looked at Diana with disbelief written across her face. "You must be kidding! You cannot change Man into animal any more than a man into a woman. The DNA changes alone...!"

Troia spoke. "She's NOT kidding, Kara. It seems impossible, but magic makes the impossible possible. Circe is ONE piece of work! She'd just as soon murder you as look at you. IF you are that lucky..."

That was forgotten when they took her to the library. Kara looked like she died and had gone to heaven. They introduced her to Harbinger, who looked a bit stunned when Kara introduced herself. "She wants to look at the historical records of earth." Diana said. Harbinger nodded, and with a sideways glance at Kara, went off to find the records.

"Why was she looking at me so strangely, Diana?" Kara enquired. "It's almost like...she was surprised to see me."

Diana looked at her and shrugged. "I noticed that, too. I'm not certain. This is the first time she's met you. She gestured to Troia. "We'll be on the main island. Call if you need us." Kara nodded, and they left.

Harbinger went down the aisle for the records, but still the young Kara's face haunted her_. I know...knew...her? But how?_ She stopped and leaned against one of the racks. Closed her eyes and thought_. Where?! Blast it! _Her mind blanked, and then drifted...one word came forth...Crisis. _Crisis?_ she thought_. What did she have to do with the Crisis?_ She mentally reviewed her role... all the heroes that rallied to the call: The Supermen, Firestorm, Pariah, Superboy-Prime, the Wonder Women, The Ray, Blue Devil, Captain Marvel, Flash, Lady Quark, Uncle Sam, Moon Maiden, and...Kara? No, she WASN'T there...

She COULDN'T have been there.

She was FAR too young.

There WAS a gap, however. Someone else, missing? Yes...there WAS someone else there. Someone...important. She concentrated even harder, willing her mind to fill in the gap. Nothing came. Then... Doctor Light? Yes...she was there. She helped Moon Maiden destroy the merging machines with Superman's help...almost stopped the Anti-Monitor at the dawn of time. She thought THAT was it... No. The gap STILL remained. _Moon Maiden..._she thought. _She saved Superman, didn't she?_ Harbinger shivered. _No. that's...wrong, somehow. Now that I think about it, the Maiden doesn't feel...real._ She paused, and saw in her mind's eye, a strange image: A rewinding videotape...with Superman's shield on it. One last image to come. A hero kneeling in silhouette...with someone limp cradled in thier arms... screaming in rage...and loss. She willed the vision to become clearer. She caught a glimpse of red, yellow, and blonde curly hair. Nothing more.

_Blast! What IS it?_ she thought. The visions faded. Troubled, she gathered the information and left.

Harbinger returned to the main section of the Amazon's Central Library. Kara was eagerly waiting to see what treasures were on the recordings. She nodded with thanks as Harbinger handed them to her, and showed her how to work the readback machines. As she prepared to leave, she heard Kara ask: "Why did you look at me as you did earlier?"

Harbinger looked into the quiet gray eyes, and then shook her head. "I feel...like I've MET you before..." She frowned in frustration. "but I can't say when. Or why. It's on the tip of my tounge, but..." She forced herself to smile at Kara. "Don't worry about it. Enjoy these. If you need anything, just call for me." Kara nodded, and then lost herself in the history of her adopted planet.

For the next two weeks, Kara explored the islands in detail, and got an introduction to martial arts by Cassie, which was later built upon by Diana. She and Cassie started to look more alike as Kara's dusty blonde hair and eyebrows started to grow out. Donna commented at one point that they could almost pass as twins, so similar did they look. Kara also enjoyed meditating facing the ocean. She made it a point of doing this midday till noon, enjoying the quiet and soaking up the sun. The evenings were filled with four-hour historical sessions in the library. Kara absorbed and mentally filed away everything she read. She was most fascinated with the art and culture of Ancient Egypt, Ancient Greece, and the Mayans.

Kara found out that, surprisingly (and thankfully), her powers were beginning to manifest already when, exploring, she slipped climbing up one of the mountains. By the time Diana got to the site, she was stunned to see a dirty and embarrassed Kara dusting herself off after a three-story tumble. Kara quietly thanked Rao and continued her daily meditations.

She spoke with Chancellor Phillipus, and asked if she might remain for another month, as there was STILL so much to see and learn on the islands. Phillipus contacted the JLA, who contacted Superman. Clark had no problem. "She couldn't be in safer hands. As long as it's alright with you, Chancellor, she can stay as long as she feels she need to." He was surprised, however, to find her powers were already beginning to emerge. "Invulnerability was the first to emerge with me, so her other abilities may emerge similarly to mine. If she has any problem with her vision powers or hearing, Phillipus, please contact me immediately. They are NOT the easiest abilities to get the hang of..."

Kara continued her routine for the next month. Eager to expand on her beginner knowledge of the martial arts, she was overjoyed when Artemis was introduced as her new instructor. Sparring gradually became a bit more of a challenge to Artemis, however, when Kara's full strength began to kick in, and she started to hit more & more powerfully. Strength control exercises with Diana were needed immediately before Kara inadvertantly hurt Artemis.

Kara was watching from a distance as Artemis grappled with Diana. With all I've learned, she thought, it's what I don't know that most fascinates me. She had been watching the grappling sessions among most of the Amazons during her time on the island, the moves & counter-moves. She felt a hand on her shoulder. "They make it look SO easy! You up to a round or two?"

"Yeah, Cassie...I'd like to try some of what they've showed me."

Ten minutes later, they were on the mats. Cassie quickly discovered that Kara had completely picked up what she had seen, and used it almost perfectly. Still, she managed to squeeze in three upsets before Kara tangled her up like a pretzel and locked her into place with her prodigious strength.

"Having a bit of a problem, there, eh, Cassie?" Diana said with a touch of amusement, while wiping her brow with a towel. Cassie tried again to get to the mount, but wasn't going anywhere fast. She sighed in frustration. "She's picked up on all your tricks...it's like grappling YOU, Diana!"

Kara released her and stood, holding out her hand to Cassie. "They're just VERY good teachers. I just watch, and I can start to see why they move when they do. Diana, I would like it if you would go a few rounds with me. That would help me refine my methods."

With a small smile on her lips, Diana nodded. Twenty minutes later, Kara was breathing heavily and desperately trying to get the better position, but Diana was having none of it. If she was chained to the ground, she would've been able to move, at the very least. Diana raised an eyebrow. "Kara...A word of advice: Don't let yourself get cocky about your skills or your powers. It makes it that much easier for an opponent to get past your defenses and take you down." Kara nodded, humbled. Diana got up, and reached out to help her to her feet. Kara stood up...and the room spun.

Cassie's hand clamped onto her bicep. "You okay?"

"Fine, just dizzy..."

"Oh...Whoah." Cassie's eyes went wide.

"What's wrong, Cassie?"

Diana was the next to speak, as Kara rubbed her eyes. "Kara, are your eyes feeling alright?"

"They're burning a bit, Diana, why?"

"They are bright red...you may be getting your..." Diana shut up and tackled Cassie to the floor.

FWASSSH!!!

"AAAGGHHHH!" Kara screamed, as two red-hot beams stabbed from her eyes. They stopped...started...stopped...started. Kara looked down at the ground, which turned red hot and molten almost instantly. "If I close my eyes, it holds them back. But I can't turn them OFF!" Kara's voice was calm, but her body was trembling.

Diana pressed a control on her bracelet. "Kal! We need you, NOW!" A pause.

"Diana, what's happening?"

"Kara's heat vision, Kal. She can't turn it off."

Miles away, Metropolis was shaken by FOUR sonic booms...

Even when he got there, it took a good twenty-five minutes of solid work and guidance from Clark before Kara got the hang of turning it off. It was another fifteen before she stopped shaking.

Diana was standing in the corner of the room, when Clark walked over, a frown on his face. "It doesn't make sense, Diana. It took me 15 years of exposure to our sun before my heat vision kicked in. She's been here for a month and change and her powers are ALREADY kicking in."

"Kal, she meditates at sunrise 'till noon outside. Her body would take in a great deal of energy that way. She also has a lower body mass than you."

"I understand that, Diana...but this is still WAY too early for anything other than invulnerability and strength to kick in. It's like she got a massive head start. Somehow, her cells were pre-charged to a degree...but where? And how?" He paused. "If you need me, I'll be at my Fortress. I'm bringing the ship there. Maybe it'll give us some answers."

"Could I come, Kal?" Kara asked, walking over to him, Cassie by her side. "If there is a reason for this, I have the biggest interest in understanding why." She flashed a small smile. "I'd like to be prepared when the next power makes its' debut."

Kal considered for a minute. "Tell you what...If Diana wishes, and you both get dressed a bit more warmly, you three can follow me to the Fortress in the Invisible Jet. I'll bring the ship."

Diana nodded. "I don't have a problem. I'm curious, as well. I haven't seen your fortress since you and Steel redid it."

"I'll be back in about 20 minutes...We can leave then."

Kara nodded. "We'll be ready." Kal pressed a button on his belt. A shimmer...Then he was gone. The girls went to get ready.

"Are you alright back there?" Diana asked.

"I'm...fine." Kara replied. "It's a bit...disconcerting...to be sitting on...nothing...all the way up here." She gulped and continued. "I KNOW that there IS something around me," Kara ran her hand with wonder over the solid, invisible material. "...But my mind is STILL terrified of falling."

Cassie squeezed Kara's left forearm. "I've found it best to close my eyes. At least initially. You'll get used to it." She paused. "It's the next best thing to flying yourself."

Diana smiled. "Which, at the rate things are going, might be sooner than you expected, Kara."

Kara quietly leaned her head back against the seat, her eyes closed. She felt another gentle nudge, and looked to her left. Cassie was looking at her, worried. "Kar...that's not all that's bothering you. You're as white as a sheet. What gives?"

Kara thought for a second, and then spoke. "It...frightens me. I keep thinking back to that earth saying you gave me a couple weeks back, 'Be careful what you wish for... you just might get it.' I wanted SO MUCH to have powers like Kal's...But NOW..." Kara looked outside, at the white covered scenery blurring past. She continued in a small voice. "I...don't know if I can handle this now. It's overwhelming. Can I use them as effectively as he does? Can I use them safely? What if I go mad? Could ANYONE stop me?"

Diana's soft voice drifted back. "Kara, you are one of the strongest, most resilient young ladies I've met so far, and by far one of the brightest souls I have met in my travels. You have a heart as big as Kal's, and the morals to match. The GREATEST power that he has is the compassion, the love, which he feels for others. As long as you have that, and him to guide you as your powers grow, you will be fine. Besides, Batman has takedowns set up for Kal in case he ever snaps... It'd work on you, too." Diana paused, and then the jet slowed and came in for a landing on a flat snow patch. The jet skidded slightly, and then stopped. They clambered out of the jet. A shadow appeared over her. She looked up. He hovered over her, like a brightly colored angel, with that wonderful smile of his...

"Hello, Kal."

"Hey, Superman!"

"Hey, Diana, Cassie. Kara, you feel okay? You look a little green around the gills."

"The jet flight was unnerving...being suspended above the clouds by an invisible field takes SOME getting used to." She smiled wanly. "I'll be alright in a couple minutes, though."

"Well, do you want to see the fortress?"

"Do you really even HAVE to ask that, Superman?" Cassie said with a grin. "Let's go!" Kal reached out, scooped Kara into his arms and took off, with Diana and Cassie right behind. They flew for a few minutes, and then came in for a landing on a snow-covered rock outcropping, facing a giant, polished black ball with gold shapes inlaid into its' surface.


	8. Chapter 7

"This is the entranceway, and the lock all in one. As of right now, only I have the strength to..." Kal blurred into motion. Panels moved up, down, over. Seconds later, Kal was standing in front of them again. "...unlock the door." The gold designs, once scrambled and seemingly random, now made coherent geometric shapes. The gold now seemed to be lit from behind.

"Your fortress seems awfully small, Kal. My ship's length almost matches its' diameter..." Kal smiled and scooped her up. Then flew right at the metal wall. She fought to keep from wincing. They passed right through it... Into the biggest citadel Kara had ever seen, on earth OR Krypton.

"How did you fit all of this in here, Kal?" Diana breathed. Kal looked over and saw Cassie floating in midair, goggle-eyed in wonder.

"It's bigger on the inside because..."

Kara interrupted, fascinated. "...It's a tesseract of some kind. Using a hybridization of Kryptonian and... earth-based? technology, it looks like. The robot servants seem to display this melding most prominently." She pointed at one of the gold, puck-shaped drones that were approaching now, flanking a standard gold servant model.

One puck flew ahead of the rest and spoke with a metallic baritone. "Please remain where you are, until your identities are confirmed."

"Identify yourselves, please."

Diana was the first to speak, holding very still in midair. "I am Diana of Themyscira, Wonder Woman."

Gold scan rays emerged from the puck and moved up and down. "Person is confirmed. Continue."

A second puck flew up and stopped in front of Cassie. "Cassie Sandsmark, Wonder Girl."

She was scanned. "Person is confirmed. Continue."

Superman dropped to the floor of the Fortress. The robots followed. Seconds later, they were finished with Kara and Kal and they retreated.

"Now that THAT'S over with, c'mon...I'll show you around." Kal scooped up Kara and took off again. For the next ten minutes, all four of them weaved throughout the Fortress's rooms, learning the history and importance behind each of the items. It was when they went back into the main room that Kara interrupted for the first time.

"Kal, I recognize your parents," She said pointing toward a memorial with a set of four Kryptonians supporting a miniature of Krypton with their hands. "...But who are those other two gaudily clad people supposed to be?"

"They are Jor-El and Lara, Kara...or I should say, ANOTHER version of them that I met twice in the Phantom Zone."

Kara paused for a moment and wondered why that Jor-El looked so familiar_... That dream! _She thought_. Father and Mother were dressed like that..._ "Another version? What happened?" Kara asked.

He sighed. "Basically, It was part of a trap by one of my enemies to trap me in the Phantom Zone indefinately. He terraformed a planet in there, and changed the beings on that planet on the DNA level into Kryptonians like us. Remember how you said Jor-El was facinated by and loved the past? My enemy was able to recreate a Krypton of that past, predating the one we were aware of by over 80,000 years. The program was designed to lure me in, and then kill me by having Krypton hurtling into the sun. To be quite frank, it confused the hell out of me for a while. I didn't know which Krypton was the 'real' one. I wound up going back to help 'Jor-El' save the planet. We weren't supposed to be able to do that, so the program started to break down. After a massive battle, Jor-El was able to modify the program to save Krypton...But to safeguard it in the Zone, he had to seal it off forever." Kal stared up at the brightly colored Jor-El & Lara with a palpable sadness on his face. "I lost Krypton AGAIN..." He paused for a moment. "However, I learned SO much about my 'father' and 'mother' from that reality that I had to honor them this way. These..." Kal pointed to the figures in the bodysuits, "...Were what they were in the true Krypton. While these..." He gestured to the brightly uniformed figures, "Were what they were in their hearts."

His ears perked slightly a moment later and a grin spread across his face. "Wrrff!" A white dog with a red cape came flying up, wagging its tail. "Heh, ladies, meet Krypto...He's from that Krypton." They dropped to the floor, with Krypto in tow. He seemed VERY happy to meet them all, most especially Diana and Kara. Kara was petting him gently, and seconds later he was licking her all over her face. She giggled.

"He likes you." Kal said with a smile, as Cassie came over to pet him.

Kara giggled. "I don't think we had any animals like this on Krypton...Hey, c'mon! Enough!"

"Yeah, and we don't have any like him on earth, either. He has super strength, super speed, flight and heat vision." Three sets of stunned eyes met his gaze. Cassie looked at him, dumbfounded. "Superman, you've GOTTA be kidding me! Heat vision? Super Strength? Flight? Like you and Kara?! On a DOG?! It sounds like something out of a old comic book..."

"Yep, Cassie. He also seems so smart at times, I'd SWEAR he's thinking like us."

Cassie looked nervous. "Uh, Superman...He IS fixed, right? If he gets into heat like earth dogs, you may be the proud owner of a LOT of half-Kryptonian puppies flying all over. I don't know if he CAN mate with earth dogs, but..."

Kal nodded. "Good point. We have a device in his collar that keeps track of his hormone levels. Kelex can usually keep it under control."

Kelex floated up. "Big Blue, What's happenin'? We've analyzed the rocket, and we've come up with some happenin' findings!" Kal rolled his eyes, and then sighed. "Kelex, let me formally introduce everyone. Cassie, Diana, Kara, this is the head of the fortress operations, Kelex." He looked at Kara, slightly red-faced. "He was speaking normally until about a year ago. one of my friend's nieces, Natasha, did some tweaking on his response circuits. He's been like this ever since."

Kara looked at Kelex for a moment, raised an eyebrow. "Kal, if you have a couple minutes to spare, I can fix him easily." He looked at her for a moment, and then said, "Kelex, get the tool kit please... and bring it to Kara."

"Gotcha, Big Blue! Back in a flash!" Two minutes later he floated back into view with the tool kit. Kara popped open his head access panel and went to work with the speed of a NASCAR pit crew.

Kara looked up ten minutes later. "Okay, let's try it now. Kelex... Are you ready to give us information on the ship?"

"Yes, Kara. It's ready whenever you are. It's been ready for the past half hour. And...thank you for fixing me. If I had feelings, I'd think I'd be...embarrassed ...after how I've been speaking these past months."

Kara put the head panel in place and screwed it tight. She spoke in Kryptonese. "Kelex, you are done. Access primary protocol list."

"Ready."

"NO ONE is to alter any of your internals without Kal-El's SPECIFIC and personal permission from this moment forward. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Kara."

"Good. Record to your primary protocol list and close out."

"Done."

Kara looked at them and spoke in English. "That should do it...Let's try it out." She handed the tools to Cassie, and then looked at Kelex and nodded. Cassie grinned and stepped forward.

"Kelex, come here. I gotta adjust your memory."

Kelex floated backwards and looked at Kal. The Man of Tomorrow shook his head. Kelex looked at Cassie. "You do not have permission, Cassie. Access denied."

Kara looked at looked at Kal and smiled. "There we go...Problem solved." She retrieved the tools and handed them to Kelex.

Kelex nodded his head. "Follow me, please."

Cassie looked at Kara as they walked into the next room. "I guess you've done that on your homeworld a couple of times." Kara looked at her, and shook her head. "My first time. It's amazing what you can learn if you read enough." She cracked a smile. "Besides, they are such simple machines... and almost as easy to fix as one of your toasters." Diana looked at her and raised her eyebrow. "Kara, if that is what you call simple, I'd HATE to see what you consider complicated." Kara responded with a smile and entered the room with her spacecraft.

Kelex spoke to Kal. "Kal-El, we looked for what you thought to be responsible for the premature power activation...and we found it. But in itself, it's NOT entirely responsible. The ship has lamps that simulate yellow sun radiation 65.4845625. This would indeed give Kara's cells a head start, but it would not be enough for her powers to manifest in a month and a half. Her cells needed more time to charge."

Kelex floated over to a console and pressed a few switches. A hologram of Kara's silhouette appeared over a platform to the right of the ship's nose. The silhouette turned a dark forest green.

"This is where she was at, charge-wise, when you and the JLA found her."

Another switch was thrown. "According to the onboard scanners and computers, when she got into the ship on Krypton, she was HERE..." The color changed to an even darker green. "She charged 25 during her journey in stasis. The only logical conclusion was that she was pre-charged while she was living on Krypton, in some manner."

Diana spoke. "How could she be, Kal? Krypton's sun was a red giant. That clearly wasn't the source."

Cassie looked at the hologram and thought for a couple of seconds. Her face brightened. "What about the lights in your home, Kara? Your dad could've replaced the light bulbs with...yellow sun simulators."

Kara narrowed her eyes in thought. "We didn't use light bulbs, we used illumination panels. But...the panels could've been adjusted...the crystals' light range modified... Kelex, estimate: Knowing the typical Kryptonian day and night, with typical activities indoors for a girl of my age... How many years would you estimate I would have to be charged by the light panels to get to the base charge level that I was at when I entered stasis?"

There was silence as Kelex floated quietly in the air for a full minute. "I would estimate...at a similar efficiency level as the lights in your ship...approximately 6.5621 Krypton cycles."

"So, if we're right, Zor-El modified your panels when you were, what, 9?" Kal looked at the hologram with a frown on his face.

"No, Kal. I was 11 cycles old when the end came and I entered stasis. I must've physically aged about 4 years during the 50,000 light year trip here. Father must have modified things when I was about four and a half cycles old."

Diana spoke. " Once you got here and started meditating in the sun..." Cassie interjected, "Your cells started absorbing the REAL sunlight, which topped off your…batteries, and kick started your invulnerability first..." Kal nodded. "That was the first to manifest with me."

Cassie continued, "Then your strength and heat vision. I guess your other vision powers would probably be next." She paused for a moment and looked at Kara. "It was your families' last gift to you."

Kara turned away, walked over to her ship. Rested her hand on it and remembered. "No, Cassie, it probably wasn't intended as a gift...at least from the perspective of my parents. It was likely deemed a necessity. They probably wanted me to use them to rule over you all...and I'd imagine that Kal's parents were hoping for the same from him." The sad look crossed her face again as she continued.

".The rebirth of Kryptonian culture." she muttered, almost under her breath. Her shoulders drooped. She stared at her spacecraft for a long minute. "I can't do it now, Cass. Sheol, I couldn't do it even if I WANTED to. After all the wonders I've seen in this past month and a half...everyone I've met so far, who's made me feel...human..." She sighed. "Why would I want to recreate that...coldness? That lifelessness? Looking back now, that was apparently all my people were willing or capable of achieving. They were...SO afraid of change...afraid of death...afraid of each other." She frowned. She turned her head and looked at Kal. "Batman surprised me, Kal. He was very much correct, and all HE knew of Krypton is probably what you told him..."

She startled as a hum began inside the ship. A panel on the nose opened and a small round sphere lifted from it into the air. A turquoise beam flashed around, scanning everyone in the room, and then locked onto Kara. A pause, and then an iris opened on the sphere's surface. A moment later, two regal Kryptonians stood before her. Kal spoke to Kelex, who turned on the translator. Zor-El looked at Kara with that sad smile of his and began...

"Greetings, Kara. If you are receiving this message, we will assume you have probably landed on earth by now.

We have left this message to encourage you, and, perhaps to be a bit of comfort.

Your body will doubtless surprise you rather soon after your arrival. Earth's lighter gravity and younger yellow sun will likely have an astounding effect on you physically. You will have tremendous strength, speed, and most likely vision powers of some nature. We also believe you may be able to defy gravity at will. We have tried to estimate what their sun would give you and artifically duplicated it while you were here. Without this precharging, you would have to wait about 15 earth cycles before your cells would be charged enough to manifest these abilities. God-like gifts of power for the Last Daughter of Krypton. We would ask you, Kara, with your powers..."

Here it comes, Kara thought.

Alura continued."...to improve their world."

What?!

"...Guide them. Help them. Learn from them."

Zor-El spoke. "Jor-El sent us all the earth visuals he received via our long distance telescope and relay satellites. We learned about their cultures and bits of their languages via audio bits from the transmissions they were bouncing off their own satellite systems. This was used, between the both of us, early on, to determine the best system to send you to, and later, young Kal-El. Jor-El stated that they were a terribly primitive culture, very warlike, and very confused. He felt they would need a strong guiding hand to help advance them, to train them in our proper fashion. To help create a New Krypton."

Kara rubbed the bridge of her nose in embarassment.

Zor-El shifted slightly, nervously. "I initially agreed with my older brother and believed you would make a wonderful queen."

Kara could swear she felt three pairs of eyes hitting her from behind. She felt her face turning beet red. Great Rao, be merciful, please let it end! she thought.

Her father's image continued. "...But then I studied the information in more detail, and considered further. The humans appear to be every bit the fighters we were, and they would most likely defend their homes and ways of living to their dying breaths if you were to try to rule them. We saw examples of that in the light waves that left their planet hundreds of their years ago. They will not tolerate servitude, but would likely welcome guidance. You are aware of my...problem, daughter, as you share it. The humans consider it a gift, rather than a curse, and call it 'intuition'. I often do not trust it, as it is not our way...but the few times I have, in desperation, it has always validated itself. It speaks to me now and says you will likely do better helping them, and...inspiring them...rather than ruling them. They live as our ancestors did, embracing their world's soil. While we find it...distasteful, they must be doing something correct that WE have not, as their planet is still filled with beauty and is alive, while we have all but destroyed our world with our...misguided animosity."

Alura's face twisted into a soft frown. Her image thought for a beat. "We have great technical wisdom, but perhaps not enough, most importantly, of wisdom of the heart. That is why our world will be cosmic debris when you get this message. We...Rao help us...have been lost, morally and spiritually, for far too many centuries, and perhaps it is fitting Rao is now asking us to pay the price for it."

Zor-El continued. "We ask you to help them AVOID repeating our mistakes, if you can. Your life is full of promise. You are full of love, intelligence...and I believe their word is...hope. We have ALWAYS admired you for that, though, regrettably, we had to teach you to conceal it. From what we know you will not need to do so on earth. Live your life to the fullest, and, with your heart wisdom, become a shining example of all that we of Krypton could have been. You are a member of the proud house of El, with Rao as an ancestor, so it is said. We hope he will guide his last daughter in safety and love. If there is someplace beyond death, I pray we will be able to watch you and perhaps guide you from there."

Alura spoke next. "We named you Kara. Your name, in ancient Kryptonese, means 'Rao's Heart' and also 'Child of Love'. It matches you perfectly. BE Love." Alura closed both of her hands into fists, and then stacked them left over right, over her heart, palms facing in...Zor followed suit. "We will be with you always. What we say carries no logical validation that we can see, but it feels correct. Go with our blessings and Rao's, and may he guide you." They both spoke in unison. "Farewell, daughter." The image faded.

Kara stood silently, back to the group, her body trembling slightly.

Diana walked over, somber, and gently turned Kara to face her. Tears rimming her eyes, Kara hugged her and cried. She felt a big hand on her left shoulder. She looked up at Kal, staring at her with tears in his eyes. She quietly hugged him, and whispered, "Thank you." She then felt a hand on her right bicep. Cassie looked at her with sadness and said, "If you need to talk, Kar, I'm there."

"Thanks, Cass...I-I just need some time alone to take it all in."

Five minutes later, Kara had retrieved her notebook and her pen from her bag, made a mighty leap up to the Krypton memorial statues, and sat down at the base of the Gaudy Jor-El, writing in Kryptonese shorthand.

"Journal Entry #4, May 26, 2003.

They didn't want me to rule. Kal, Cassie, Diana & myself went to the Fortress to find out why my powers were kicking on early. It appears that Father went through quite the effort, on Krypton and on my ship, to simulate the radiation from earth's sun. Well, it did its' job...It charged me about a quarter of the way. My sun-meditations on Diana's home apparently did the rest.

I never knew panic like I did when my heat vision kicked on, yesterday. With Rao's grace, Kal was able to get to me within 10 minutes. It is easy to control once you get the 'knack' of it (as they say here). I never realized it could be so POWERFUL, though. I stared at the ground for approximately twenty seconds with it on full...and reduced that patch of ground to magma. Great Krypton, please let Kal be nearby when the next power kicks in!

When all was done, I accidentally activated a holo-corder embedded in my ship. Mother and Father, of course. I expected them to tell me that they expected me to rule over the earth people, to create a New Krypton. Guide them in all matters with a strong hand.

They very much surprised me...

Apparently, father initally thought that I SHOULD rule...Then took the time to think, to use his...intuition. He suggested that I guide and help the earth people, as I've since learned Kal is renowned for doing here. Mother searched herself deeper than I ever expected her to do...She recommended that I listen to my heart wisdom.

I never missed them more than in that moment.

Lord Rao, when you see them, please welcome them to you. They did so much for me. They may not have been comfortable saying they loved me. It was NOT our way. But it was apparent to me. That is the most important. Please let them know that I loved them as well. I cannot bring them back now, but I can honor them...and my heart...by helping those I can."


	9. Chapter 8

"Kara!"

"Kal?"

"If you want, for a few minutes, we can practice with your heat vision."

"I'd like that. Be right down!" She gathered her note book and pen and went to the edge of the platform. Looked down. Jumping up here was NOT the best idea, she thought.

Kal floated up and stopped. "Scared?"

"Yeah...can I land without hurting anything?"

"Shouldn't be a problem. If you fell three stories and survived, your invulnerabilty should do fine here. Besides, our bone and muscle structure is denser & stronger than the steel here. Worst case, I have Kelex fix the floor." He paused, studying her. "I can carry you down, if you want."

"N-no...just containing my nerves." She took a deep breath. Kal moved out of the way. Jumped. WHAM! She lost balance and fell on her rear. Got up. Looked at the two foot-shaped impressions left in the floor. Kara shook her head and muttered, "Amazing. Didn't feel a thing." Cassie looked at her, and then at the floor, goggle-eyed.

"You can modulate the strength of you heat vision fairly easily. It's one of the most effective powers in your arsenal when you are fully charged. You can do anything from warming up hot cocoa and pies on the low setting..." Kal paused, aiming at the row of cocoa-filled mugs on a nearby table. His eyes went red as he focused on each cup. Seconds later, all but one were piping hot. He pointed at the untouched mug. "Try to warm that mug up from there."

Kara concentrated, focused on the cup, turned it on. Two red hot beams stabbed from her eyes, she smelled the cocoa burning... followed by the cup shattering from thermal shock, spilling its' contents all over the table and the floor underneath. "Damn..." she whispered.

"Remind me to not let you cook my TV dinners!" said Cassie, mischeiveously.

Kara rolled her eyes. "Sorry, Kal. I didn't mean..."

"Kara, that's what we're here for. The robots will clean up the mess." Kal handed out two of the intact mugs to the Diana and Cassie... and got another one. Filled it with water. "Okay, Kara, one more time...but GENTLY! Don't try so hard. Relax and picture yourself warming it up in your mind's eye as you kick it on."

Kara closed her eyes and took five deep breaths. _Smooth 'n easy_, she thought. Opened her eyes. Focused on the mug. Relaxed again. Turned it on again. She didn't see anything, but then saw the water beginning to boil. _Yes! Got it!_

Red beams stabbed from her eyes

_NO! Deep breath...RELAX!_

The red beams disappeared, and the water continued to boil. Kal smiled. "Okay, that's great, Kara! You're now ready to experience the fruit of your labors." He dropped four spoonfuls of a brown powder into the hot water and stirred at super-speed until the powder dissolved into suspension and foamed. He reached over to a small box on the table and opened it. He withdrew out four white, foamlike cylinders, went over to Cassie and Diana, dropping one in each of their cups, and then into his and Kara's.

"Kal, what are they?"

"They didn't have marshmallows on Krypton?" Cassie looked at her with a questioning look on her face.

"Cassie, we didn't even have FOOD, as you know it...We had supplement pills."

Kal handed Kara the hot mug. "What did you say this was? A marsh-melon?"

Diana chuckled. "MarshMALLOW."

"Oh." she fished it out of her cocoa, popped it into her mouth and tried it. Sweet...Spongy. A little funny tasting, but not bad.

"Well?" Kal prodded. "I rather like it." She closed her eyes and took a sip of her 'cocoa'. It EXPLODED in her mouth. Then cascaded sweetly down her throat. WOW. Sweet...smooth...creamy...soothing (Rao knows why!) She licked the froth off her lips. Great Krypton, I love this! Kara thought with a blissful smile and took another sip. She opened her eyes to all three of them looking at her with amusement and curiosity on their faces.

"What do you think?" Diana asked, sipping from her mug with a knowing grin on her face.

Kara, red-faced, smiled and took another sip. "I wish they had this on Krypton! This is probably the best tasting food I've had yet!"

Kal nodded. "One of the many forms of a concoction that we call chocolate."

Diana smiled and said, "Oh, Kara, the surface hasn't even been SCRATCHED! Give us some time and you'll experience culinary delights that will exceed that in the days to come."

"In the meantime..." Kal interjected with a grin, and put down his empty mug. Kara giggled and pointed at his upper lip. He smiled, licked off his foamy mustache and flew out of the room.

He returned a minute later with a segment of a very heavy-looking steel I-beam. Kara blissfully finished her mug and walked over to Kal. "This is going to help you work the high level of your heat vision." Stepping back a few feet, Kal wrinkled his brow in concentration, focusing near the end of the beam. Two blinding, pulsating streams of red power started cutting through the steel, seemingly effortlessly. He stopped at the midway mark, looked at Kara, and gestured for her to try.

She focused on the cut beam, and then triggered her vision. FWWISSH! A pair of bright red beams slammed into the metal. They moved downward in a somewhat crooked fashion, and stopped at the floor. Kara willed it off, and then cracked a wry smile. "It's easier when you practice it on ceramics first."

Kal smiled in return. "Try it again. This time, cut off a piece on your own." She focused and fired. A minute later, another piece (cut much straighter) was standing on its' own. She then crouched, and then triggered her heat vision once more. The two hot beams slowly bored a hole through the thick horizontal upper part of the I-beam. A minute and a half later, she stopped as her beams punched through.

"Okay, while we're at it, I'll give you some tips on super-breath, if you want..."

"Super-breath, Kal? Breathing as a weapon? It can knock a person backwards, but can it be that much of a protection or deterrent?" His response was to look in Kara's direction and take a deep breath. He blew out through pursed lips. Kara skidded backwards a few feet.

He stopped and spoke. "Try to walk into it...you'll see how much of a deterrent it is."

She planted herself as he took another breath, and then exhaled. She struggled a bit, but managed to gain ground slowly. _Great Krypton_! she thought. _I never thought one could use breathing as a defense!_

He stopped and continued. "Very few beings can stay planted in gusts like that. On a related note, we can also pressurize the air in our lungs to such a degree that exhaling produces artic-temperature air." Kal focused on the I-beam, took a deep breath, and then blew. An icy cage formed around the steel.

Kara's eyes widened_. It kinda makes sense, she thought, but also seems rather anti-intuitive. A warm body producing artic blasts? Hmmm..._ "How do you do the ice trick, Kal?"

It took ten minutes, but she eventually started to get it down. Not well, but she promised she would practice in the days to come. They left the Fortress after that, saying goodbye to Krypto first. They got into the Invisible Jet for the trip back to Themyscira. Kara was out like a light within five minutes.

Kara stayed at Themyscira for two more weeks, continuing her routine. About halfway through the second week, she noticed two new additions to her growing list of superpowers: Her hearing was becoming much more acute, and she was able to look through things. The hearing surprised her, but her X-Ray vision was the most disturbing. She couldn't figure out how to shut it off for about an hour, and got a rather disturbing crash course in Amazon anatomy in the meantime. Eventually, Diana managed to get through to Clark via his pager and he then relayed his tips to switching it on & off. The hearing required a bit more focus and effort, but four hours later, Kara was able to ratchet her sensitivity down to normal and back up to enhanced_. Just as well_, she thought_. If I had to keep it on full all the time, I'd go nuts!_

It also took a bit of coaxing and encouraging by Cassie and Diana, but Kara decided to try and switch to the normal clothes that the Kents had sent with her.

"I feel strange." Kara adjusted the short sleeved white blouse, nervously, and looking at the VERY pale skin on her forearms. "This chest supporter itches, too."

"Kara, that's a bra, and you'll get used to it." Cassie said. "The jeans fit really well, though."

Kara held her arms out and slowly spun in front of the mirror in the room, looking at herself. She sighed. "I'm very much of two minds about this..." Kara said nervously. "It doesn't feel BAD, but, by the same token, I want SO desperately to rip these off and get back into the suit right now that it's NOT funny..."

Diana smiled gently. "The only way you are going to get used to earth clothes is to keep wearing them. What we need to do is to take your mind off of your clothes. I think it's time, Kara, that you experienced the movies!"

An hour later, the trio was at the Gateway Multiplex. Twenty minutes later, they were enraptured watching the movie musical "Detroit".

They were getting out of the movie theater and heading back to the jet, when Kara swore she heard a muffled scream from the side of the building. She froze like a tiger and ratcheted up her hearing...

"...and I said to let her go, man!" She heard.

"You shut up, you dinkwad, or I'll put you in the morgue!"

She found the source. Against the side of the building, one gangly, serious-looking man and a grungy, portly man, both with guns, were demanding the wallets and purses from two young couples. The portly one was holding one lady around the neck.

"...Maybe I'll take my payment out of sweets, here...OWWW! AAAHHH!"

This last response from Portly was due to the barrel of his gun suddenly glowing red hot and partially melting onto his hand. The other thief looked puzzled and then let out a wail of his own, dropping HIS piece, which was now ALSO cherry red. The hostage took the opportunity to slam her foot down on Portly's instep.

"AHHH! You Bch! You called in Superman somehow! I'm gonna smack..."

"You are 'gonna' smack WHAT?" came an ominously quiet female voice from behind him.

Portly turned and saw the LAST person he wanted to see...

Wonder Woman, lasso and all, floating about two feet off the ground. Her arms were folded and there was anger sparking dangerously behind her blue eyes. The captive had the good sense to move around to behind the angry Amazon.

Gangly realized that this was a lost cause, and took off running to his left. Until he saw Wonder Girl drop in front of him.

Sheee-ooot! he thought, in panic. He turned and ran to the right...

Headfirst into a focused wind gust that sent him sprawling backwards... and into Wonder Girl's fist.

Ten minutes later, the police arrived. Gangly and Portly were bound hand and foot against the side of the movie theater. Portly was still moaning after an unidentified person kicked him in the yabos, minutes before the cops arrived. The couples pressed charges, and were grateful when Wonder Woman and Wonder Girl gave their versions of what happened. The officer, with the nametag reading BINDER, looked at the half-slagged weapons, which were being picked up by the other, rubber-gloved officer, with the nametag of DAVID. Binder looked at Wonder Woman. "What happened to their guns?"

Cassie looked at Diana, and then looked back at the officer with a smile. "We had some help from our secret weapon..."

Minutes later, Cassie was ebulliently punching Kara on the arm, as the Invisible Jet winged its' way home to the islands. "Yeah! Supergirl is HERE! Kara, VERY cool! Your first 'bust' as a superheroine."

Kara smiled. "I just got angry at how he was treating her. My X-ray vision told me he was holding a primitive weapon that looked to be vulnerable to heat."

Cassie nodded, rubbing her now-sore knuckles. "A gun."

"I didn't burn him too badly?"

"Kara, if I was in YOUR place, and I saw what WE saw, I'd be hard pressed to keep myself from heat-visioning that scumbag's gun into a molten mitten. He deserves whatever he got. Any way you look at it, it HAS to be a lot better than what he had planned for those ladies..."

Diana interjected. "Kara, it looks like he had, at most, second degree burns. It may well leave some scars...which will hopefully remind him of what happened today. Perhaps it will also be an incentive to him to NOT do it again." She paused, and then continued with a smile. "On another note, you haven't said anything about your clothes. I guess that little adventure did the trick."

Kara nodded. "They still feel strange, but not as much as they did two hours ago. I still feel strange about exposing my arms."

"You'll get over it."

"Diana?"

"Yes, Kara?"

"Don't you ever get cold in that outfit?"

"Since I'm almost nude?" Diana replied, with a smile.

"Diana, you're not nude in that." Cassie said. "Why would you..."

Kara responded, red-faced. "That was my...bad, as you say. When the JLA intercepted my ship and I awoke from the sleep, that was my first question to Diana after she introduced herself. I can't believe I said that now."

Diana quickly looked over at Kara. "Don't worry. It's culture shock. You got over it. With any luck, in a few months, we'll get you to the beach, and into a bikini...and THEN we'll see who feels naked!" Diana looked back in front and Cassie chuckled at the thought. "...And, no, I DON'T get cold or hot in this. To this day, I'm not sure why. Whether It's due to me being initially made from clay or magic protectants in the armor itself?"

Kara raised her eyebrow, baffled. "Diana...you said you are made from...clay? My X-Ray vision shows you as human as can be. Your muscle fibers are unusually dense, like mine, but..."

Diana sighed. "It's a long story. I started out as a baby made of clay, created by my now-deceased mother, Hippolyta, the former queen of Themiscyira. She long had had the desire for a child on an island where none had existed for three thousand years..."

The story continued until they arrived at the islands.

As they clambered out of the Jet, Kara asked,

"Diana, you've said you've met the gods...and lived among them for a time...Tell me, did you ever meet Rao or his wife Nara?"

Diana shook her head. "I...sensed the presence of some other gods when I was on Olympus, but I never met them. Kal has spoken to Zeus at one point and was told to NEVER mention Rao's name again...so, at LEAST Rao has to be up there...and apparently doing SOMETHING that Zeus dislikes."

Diana thought for a second. "Would you talk to Rao if you could, face to face?"

Kara went wide-eyed, and shivered. "I...don't know. Our ancient readings stated that those who looked upon His face would be sent to a thousand years in Sheol...hell. If one spoke to his wife first she would protect your soul and intercede on your behalf...but later scriptures also depicted him as a loving father watching over his children."

Cassie spoke. "Sounds an awful lot like what a lot of the earth religions here say, in varying degrees. Just change the name of the god or goddesses. Your people and ours might well be more alike than different."

Diana gently rested a hand on Kara's forearm. "You might want to pass the stories you can remember to Harbinger. You and Kal together should have all the important history of your homeworld...It might be wise to save it for future reference. I'm quite sure that there would be numerous earth historians who would be fascinated with learning the history and the rituals of the Kryptonian people."

Kara nodded. "Maybe you're right, Diana. The ancient Egyptians believed that as long as their names were kept alive in tales, so would their souls...My people believed that, to a certain extent, too. That was part of the reasons why the various houses...El, Em, Zee...were founded...to honor and to keep alive the spirits of our ancestors."


	10. Chapter 9

The rest of the week finished up relatively uneventfully, and it was time for Kara to head back to the Kents for a while. The Chancellor emphasized that Kara would be more than welcome back at any time in the future. Diana promised that they would meet and see how much her wrestling and sparring had improved. Cassie told her that when her full powers manifested, and Superman agreed, she had a hero group which Kara would work well in, if she wanted.

They were flying back toward Smallville when Kara asked, "Kal, how did you think up the design for your costume? Why did you choose bright colors?

He smiled. "In order: It was a cooperative effort between Me, Ma & Pa. My emblem and colors were inspired by an old American Indian, an Iroquis, snake symbol that was said to have healing powers. Pa was inspired by the colorful mystery heroes of the 40's, and the costume was Ma's design."

He paused a beat and raised an eyebrow. "Why...You already planning the costume for your first appearance as Supergirl?"

Kara blushed. "Uh...yeah, eventually. Was I THAT obvious?"

"Yeah...with all these abilities, I can't say I blame you. I WOULD make one recommendation, though." "Go ahead, Kal." He chuckled. "For one thing, it probably would be best to leave out the cape. Though it looks cool, our aura doesn't extend to it. It tends to get shredded in battle fairly easily, so unless you want to continuously sew new ones, you might want to think of leaving it out."

"Why do you keep it, and then?" She snuggled in tighter as the Man of Tomorrow piled on the speed.

"Nostalgia, mostly. People expect to see me with it after all these years, too. Plus, I don't think I look right without it."

"When I put mine together, can I do a variation on the logo and the design? I just don't want to copy yours."

"Kara, that's entirely up to you. I want you to come up with something that is as distinctive as Batman's, mine, or Diana's, something you can be PROUD of. You could ask Ma for ideas and work with her from there." He slowed up and landed in the back yard of the Kent house.

They were on the porch when Ma & Pa came to the door. "Oh, my, Kara, is that you? You look wonderful! No more suit! How does it feel?" Martha opened the back door and shooed them inside.

"Feels a bit strange, Ma, but I'm getting used to it. Do you have colored pens or such? I have some ideas for my journal that need color..."

"Sure, dear, we have them at the store. I can bring home a package tomorrow. What are you coloring?"

"I was inspired by the costume designs I've seen so far. I just want to start planning what my Supergirl costume will look like, since most of my powers seem to be kicking on."

That night Kara stayed up for two hours, on Clark's old bed, sketching ideas.

She woke about 9 the next morning. She basked in the warmth of the sun for ten minutes, put her new clothes on, and then headed downstairs. As she reached the first floor, three voices reached her ears. Kal, Pa... and another male? Caution arising, she slowly peeked around the corner. She could make out a young man with black hair, well-built, wearing a blue, short sleeved T-shirt. She saw Kal's ears move slightly and he looked at her sideways. Nodded slightly. She nervously took a deep breath, composed herself, and entered the kitchen. "Morning, Pa. Morning...Clark."

Both Kent men responded almost in unison. "Morning, Kara." The young man spun around at hearing this, looking at her with utter surprise. Clark stood, and then gestured toward Kara. "Kon-El, this is my cousin, Kara Zor-El, from..."

"Argo City, right, Kal?" Kon stood up and extended his hand, quickly covering his astonishment. "It's nice to meet you." _Oh, Great Krypton, he is CUTE!_ she thought, wide-eyed. _Just like Kal from the old photos!_

"I-It's good to meet you, as well, Kon. Actually, I'm from Kryptonopolis, but a few of my ancestors lived in Argo. How did you know about Argo? You look to be from earth?"

"Err...a lucky guess?" Kon stammered.

Clark sighed. "Tell her."

Kon nervously paused for a minute, trying to gather the words. "I...already **met** a Kara Zor-El. 'Bout two months ago. She arrived in a dark blue and green rocket, and was dressed in a Supergirl costume. She looked and sounded JUST like you too. About the same age, also. She was found by the previous Supergirl...

"Tell me more. I want to get breakfast…Anyone for eggs?" Kon and Kal nodded. So Kon continued the story, as best as he knew. Kara moved around the kitchen, finding the eggs, getting the water in the pot. Modulated her heat vision into the water to speed up the cooking process. Three minutes later, the eggs were finished. Kon's story continued.

"…She actually fought with us a month back when Kal, Linda, me, Krypto and the Eradicator went to Apokolips."

Kara's eyes widened. "Eradicator?! What is it doing here?"

Clark held up his hands. "Kara, calm down. He's not what you are remembering... not entirely, at least. It has evolved, has taken on human form, and understands humanity a bit better..."

Her face hardened. "It's just too bad he didn't find his humanity BEFORE he doomed all of our people to death with the genetic burst! Were it not for that, Mother and Father might be here now! That malfunctioning machine KILLED EVERYONE I knew!" Kara turned, carrying her dish and utensils to the garbage, cleaned the remnants of breakfast from her plate in the garbage, and then started washing them in the sink. She stared out the window, looking into the backyard, trying to rein in her anger. A pair of warm hands landed on her shoulders and gently turned her around. She looked into Pa's blue eyes.

"I think he's in the same boat as you."

" Pa…what do you…?"

"Learning about humanity. From what Clark says, he started out as a machine, right?" Kara nodded.

"Did your machines have free will or emotions, or did they just do what they were programmed to do?"

Kara frowned. "They acted according to their programming."

"Could they deny their programming?"

"No..."

"Seems to me, the true guilty party was not this 'Eradicator', but the person who programmed it."

"Our ancestor, Kem-L." Clark interjected. Kon raised his hand, jokingly. "'Scuse, me...genetic burst? What'd I miss here?" Kon looked from Clark to Kara.

Kara took a deep breath, and calmed herself a bit more. "During the Clone Wars, Kem-L, our ancestor, Kraayn burn his soul, got a hold of a navigational tool from a visiting alien's ship. He reprogrammed it so it would have the capability to cleanse Krypton of all alien influences. During the beginning of a major battle, one of our nervous soldiers activated it. It sent out a shockwave that destroyed about seven square miles from the detonation point, destroying everything in its' path, like one of your 'nukes'. It also sent out a very specific electro-biological pulse at the same time, that blanketed all of Krypton, via our extensive network of satellites. This pulse re-arranged a part of every Kryptonian's genetic structure. From then onwards, we COULD NOT leave Krypton's environs...Our bodies would die otherwise...painfully so." She tightened her left hand. She heard the tell-tale 'PIISSSH', as the drinking glass shattered under the pressure, but otherwise felt nothing. She continued. "THAT'S why my people couldn't leave, ultimately. Because of that fool and his damned machine..."

Pa moved off, back to the table. Kon looked at her. "Then how are you and Clark..."

"Jor-El and my father modified our genetics to improve us and remove the fault when we were first conceived and were still each a small cluster of cells."

Kara found the rest of the glass fragments in the sink with her x-ray vision, put them on the palm of her hand. Bright red beams stabbed from her eyes, turning the glass red, than white and molten. She formed it into a golf ball-sized sphere, and then set it on the counter to cool. She composed herself, and then looked with a lopsided grin at Pa. He answered back with a chuckle and a wave of his hand. "Don't worry about it, Kara...Martha and I don't tend to use a lot of glassware now."

Kara looked at Kon and continued. "All right, changing the subject, what else happened with this 'Kara'?"

Kara listened, stunned as Kon related the impossible tale. "How could she be ME? She must have been a fake."

"Nope, Kara. True Kryptonian. Just like you, just like Kal. She had heat vision, flight, telescopic vision...super strength, yadayadayada. The only physical difference that I can see between the two of you is eye color. She had baby blues, just like Kal's. You have baby grays." Kon paused, and then chuckled.

She looked at him. "What's so funny?"

"Linda found her doing what looked like, but WASN'T a handstand, She was trying to fly the earth out of the path of a meteor in space."

Kara chuckled. "Hey, I'm strong...but not THAT strong! Anyone tell her that moving the planet, even if she could do it, would nearly destroy it, and everything else on it?"

Kon nodded. "Actually, Linda did. That Kara seemed to believe that Kal has done it in the past."

Clark spoke up, after swallowing a mouthful of egg. "I HAVE…I've done it with planet-sized bodies, twice. Barely. Each time, I wanted to sleep for a month straight afterwards."

Kara's eyes went wide and looked like she was going to pass out. "You're...kidding me, Kal, right?"

He shook his head. "Kara, It is possible, but it puts us at the ABSOLUTE ragged edge of our capabilities...I was able to move a basically solid metal planet, Warworld, in a recent war, only because I basically supercharged my body in the core of our sun." He saw her incredulous look. "After a number of years, our physiology adapts enough where we CAN go into the sun...It IS uncomfortable, but..."

"Wh-what was the other body?"

"Krypton. In the Phantom Zone. Wasn't easy, even with Jor-El's help."

"I...was under the impression that we lost our abilities under a red sun."

"We do, but slowly. We are living solar batteries, so we use up the rest of our yellow sun 'charge' when under a red."

"But...a planet the size of our motherworld?! Kal, c'mon, is that really possible?! You have to be pulling my arm…"

Kon broke in with a grin. "I'll do it if you pull my finger…"

Kara looked at Kon, puzzled, "What does pulling your finger have to do with this?"

They both heard Clark sigh, and looked over to see him massaging his eyes with his fingertips.

"Number one, Kara, the expression is, 'pulling my leg', not 'pulling my arm'. Not to be confused with 'pull my finger'…which is something you'll understand in time. You had the right idea, but the wrong appendage. Number two…Kon, please go easy on her until she gets a better hang of the language.

Number three, Kara, I WASN'T kidding. I DID move the world...but it drained me almost totally. If I had pushed any more, I would have been COMPLETELY powerless, unconcious, in the vacuum of space. That would've been it for me."

"Kara? Yoo hoo?" Kon waved his hands in front of her shell-shocked face.

"I'm...all right, Kon...just nearly frightened out of my mind. THAT much power...even at the limits of our endurance..."

"Overwhelming, huh?"

She nodded. "I'm going to take a walk outside. I...need to think."

"Can you stand company?"

"Yeah, Kon...Let's go, and then."

They stepped out into the back yard and started walking towards the fields. Kara lifted up her face to the sun and basked in its' warmth. "You'll do okay, Kara, don't worry so much. Kal does that because he trusts himself and knows his limits." He paused. "Though I think I'd be as intimidated as you in your place."

She was silent for a full minute as they walked. "When Kal was first showing me around the planet when I first got here, he showed me how powerful I was when he had me lift a boulder...easily a ton. I didn't think I could do it, but when I tried...and I succeeded... it frightened me. I remember thinking that I shouldn't be able to do that..."

Kon stuck his hands in his pockets, then spoke. "It wasn't that way for me. The Newsboys broke me out of my growth tube in Cadmus, but it took me a LONG time before I really started getting an idea of what I'm capable of..."

She looked at him with an eyebrow raised. "Kon, what in the name of Chaldeth are you talking about? Cadmus? Growth Tubes?"

Kon hesitated, and a flush crept over his cheeks. "I'm not really human. I was 'born in a test tube'.

He saw her looking at him, and he looked intently down at the trail, hoping she didn't yet see his embarrassment. "A couple years back, Clark was killed battling Doomsday, a monster that we later found was created on Krypton. Cadmus, a government-sponsored, genetic research lab, tried to clone Kal...They felt that this world STILL needed a Superman. But his DNA sequences couldn't be fully understood. They tried using his cells to create a successor, but all the clones failed. Finally, out of desperation, they decided to clone a human, and make tweaks to make him look like Kal and have similar powers. I was their thirteenth try...and the only one that worked. They were planning on growing me in a growth tube to full adulthood, subliminally teaching me english and all sorts of other knowledge...

That never happened. One minute I was...in my own world...I heard a crash, felt a jolt, and then these five young kids were handing me a towel and some clothes. It took me a while to get my head together, but I realized I HAD to get to Metropolis...Superman was needed. And I…was him. I reacted...badly...when a couple people had the balls to call me 'Superboy'.

But the name stuck. And when Kal fought his way back from death and became Superman again, I had to become something else...

The world needed a Superboy, so that's who I became.

I thought I was a clone of Kal at the time, so it was a bit of consolation... if the man dies, I'll become the next Superman. By then all my powers would be on, and I'd continue his legacy.

Until I found out I was cloned from the biggest slimeball in Cadmus, their Director, Paul Westfield.

I was devastated. Not only was I a clone, but I was a clone of a human, not a real replacement for The Man of Steel, and to top it all off, I was a clone of a major scumbag, at that. I wouldn't have the same powers as Kal. I was a nobody."

Kon cleared his throat and continued.

"Kal helped me again. He gave me a real name, Kon-El, named after one of his ancestors, and reminded me that its' the person…the soul… that makes the difference, more than the powers, but." Kon kicked a rock to the side of the forest trail and continued. "I thought he had it easy until some...magical thing happened about a year ago. It made us switch ages...and I got the first taste of what its' like to be him. Totally overwhelming. You didn't have a lot of room for mistakes. HE learned how hard it was to live up to his own legend.

After we were swapped back to our proper ages, I promised him that I would make the name 'Superboy' mean as much as 'Superman'.


	11. Chapter 10

She heard a chortle. She looked at Kon. "You hear that?" He nodded. She cranked up her hearing. Her vision revealed nothing but trees.

Again with the chuckle.

"OKAY...we hear you, whoever you are! Why don't you just come out and..."

"Certainly, my dear..." A flash of light and a POP!

She studied the funny little floating curiously as Kon let out a groan. "Oh, c'mon!...Didn't we ALREADY go through with this recently? MXY?" The little man with the derby, in orange and dark blue just hung in mid-air, with a twinkle in his eyes.

"Come on, Superpoop, relax, I'm not here to torture you...at least not THIS TIME... I'm here to greet the lovely little lady with you. It's been a long time since I've seen her last, and it's good to see her back."

There was a flash in his hands, and two pieces of plastic-covered cardboard appeared.

"I'm happy, 'cause I've got the new issue. I'm sure it's gonna be a classic! The re-introduction of Supergirl, Kara Zor-El!" Kara was looking curiously at the cardboard sheets in his hand. Chuckling, Mxy lowered and turned around the items.

_Action Comics...252? What is this?_ she wondered. The cover showed a surprised Superman staring as a smiling blond-haired girl dressed in blue flew out of a crashed purple rocket with green fins. She gently reached out and touched it. "Why…do you keep these pictures?"

"They're comics, my dear. Look at that, but be very gentle with it. It's worth a lot." The comic lowered into her hands and the plastic cover disappeared. She gently opened the book. "It's...me?" She gently flipped a page then felt the blood drain from her face. "Father? Mother?" Zor-El in green & red, with brown hair, Alura in blue & white, with blonde hair. She gently paged through the story. She felt, rather than saw, Kon behind her studying the comic as well.

"The origin is like mine but isn't logical...A city flung free of the destruction with a bubble of air...a meteor strike?" She flipped another page. "How are they getting radio transmissions?" The departure. Even with the simple writing, her heart ached. "I'm calling him 'Cousin Superman'? He puts me in an…orphanage? That makes NO sense at all..." She finished the story but went back and stared at one page. The launch. Kara looked over at Kon and pointed. "It didn't happen this way, but I remember the feeling." She gently flipped through the pages to show Kon, and then looked up. "Mr...Mxy? Why would someone do a story like this about me if it didn't happen?"

"Mxyztplk, my dear. I know that's a mouthful for you people. I'm from the fifth dimension. It DID happen, once...you'll find out the specifics at some later point. I can't show you THAT issue, or it'll ruin the surprise!" Kara gently closed the book and handed it back to...Mxyztplk? He handed her the other one, removing the plastic and cardboard off that one. The art was much more realistic. The cover showed Superman resting his hand on her right shoulder, him sad, her crying. She holds her gold crystal, wearing her traditional dress. In the distance, Krypton explodes in a flash, while her ship blurs into hyperspace. Action #806? 'A Survivor's Tale'? She hesitated, and then opened the book with shaking hands.

Mxy watched as Kara looked through the book. _It's so good to see her back_, he thought_. Out of all of the Super-dupes before the Crisis, she was by far the most bearable. She didn't take herself as seriously as Super-dupe...and didn't try as hard as the Mini-Me Super-dupe does now... But she's back...and it's only a matter of time before she's noticed... A pity, really. She has SUCH potential...TOO much potential to be stopped by the curse. Maybe...maybe she can stop it this time. Should I help? Oh, Mltnflk! If SHE finds out that I helped Kara, though.._.He shivered once nervously, not liking at all the image that came to mind.

Kon quietly looked up at Mxy. He's...sad…nervous? Why? He looked back over at her as her eyes began to well up, as she followed the story. The brothers realizing the approach of doom. The council refusing help. The conception and modification of the girl, her birth, and contruction of the Hyperdrives. Preparations...goodbyes...and the launch. Tears rolled down her cheeks. She wiped her eyes clear and kept reading. Found by the JLA_ (How did they guess my thoughts?)_. The Kents The dreams. Themyscira. She closed it and tried to control herself. Mxy took it back. Kon remained silent, and just held her.

"My dear Kara, I have to go, but I'd like you to have these." A flash. Twelve thin books floated before her.

"Ah...Th-Thank you, Mr. Mxy."

Kon cleared his throat, nervously. "Uh...Mxy, what's your angle?"

"Nothing… this time. You get off easy! I just wanted to welcome a future playmate. Besides that, I wanted to get her to sign this issue..."

Kara looked puzzled. "Sign...it? Mr. Mxy, what do..."

"You handwriting your name on the cover." With an expressive gesture, a big pen appeared in his hand. Mxy handed it and the #806 issue to Kara. She hesitated, and then, with Kon's help, uncapped the pen and wrote her name in cursive Kryptonese in flowing gold ink. She then handed the comic back to him. He cackled joyfully. "Thank you, my dear. Welcome to earth. Oh, boy...wait 'till Mr. Hxrytpz gets a load of this...limited edition, signed by the little missy herself. This will be worth a MINT! Hee Hee!!! As a token of my thanks..." He batted his bushy white eyebrows, and then... "KLPTZYXM!" A puff of smoke and he was gone...

Kara looked down at the...comics…in her hands, then up at Kon. She swayed. Kon caught her as the comics tumbled to the ground.

"You all right?"

"I...feel...dizzy...full." She mumbled. She took two slow deep breaths, and stood up. And up. "EEEAAAGGHH! KON! Get…get me DOWN!" Kon lifted off and effortlessly flew up to her level, and then put his hands on her shoulders.

"Looks like Mxy charged you up all the way."

Her arms snapped out around his neck in panic. "T-Tell me something NOT as obvious!"

She gulped, wide-eyed.

"Ka...Ra...Air...Pleasse!..." Kon gurgled. Her eyes widened and she recoiled in shock. Much to Kon's relief, the pressure on his neck and throat disappeared.

"Oh, Rao…Kon...I'm sorry!!! I didn't mean to..." Her heart was pounding hard and despite the warm sun, she suddenly felt a chill race up her spine. _Oh, Rao! If I had squeezed harder, I…_She pushed the thought out of her head and vowed to be more careful in the future.

Kon smiled shakily and repeatedly swallowed. "It's...okay. Didn't break anything. I forgot that you almost LITERALLY don't know your own strength. At least you didn't use FULL strength..." He paused, and shot a side glance at her with a cocky grin. "Okay, Howzabout we practice flying just over the treetops?"

"I'm not going to fall?"

"Not unless you want to...!"

They spent the next half hour doing arials above the Smallville Horse Trails. Twenty minutes after that, they were having speed races back & forth with Kara getting much faster each time.

Ultimately, they both landed, gathered her books and returned the way they came, back to the Kent farmhouse.

"He did WHAT?!"

"Mr. Mxy charged me up the rest of the way." Kara grinned, floating a foot off the kitchen floor.

Kon snorted. "Figures...We have to put up with his pranks...She just bats those baby greys and he's eating out of her hand. Whaddaya think, d'you think it would work for me?!" Kon batted his eyes, and Kara chuckled.

"Somehow, I don't see him going for you..." Clark said with a rueful grin on his face. Clark was looking with interest through the issues. "It makes sense, though...He mentioned before I got married that he collected special comics...He wanted us to marry so he'd get a special issue."

She lowered herself to the floor, sat down and started looking through Ma's latest issue of VOGUE.

"He seemed nice enough. He had me autograph one of his issues."

Clark smiled. "He'll be very happy with that. Instant collector's edition. The one issue signed by the one and only Kara Zor-El...The Last Daughter of Krypton!"

Ma came in the kitchen. "Maybe you can achieve what Clark and Kon haven't, dear. Make him an ally rather than him being a pest."

"I've got some time before I have to be back at the Planet tonight...Do you guys want to practice flying?"

Kon shook his head. "No, thanks, Clark. I've gotta meet Tim & Young Justice tonight."

Ultimately, Clark decided to bring Kara back to their apartment, to meet Lois and to see the city. Clark told Kara to put on her second biosuit and ready her knapsack. Minutes later, after Clark hugged Pa and kissed his mother goodbye, the Super-cousins took off in tight formation. On the way there, Clark helped Kara to refine her speed a bit more. As they neared the futuristic, gleaming city, Clark piled on the speed, angling toward one specific building. Kara matched his angle and speed... And almost flew head-first through the building as the Man of Tomorrow stopped on the proverbial dime, alighting on a balcony. Thankfully, with quick reflexes, she was able to cancel her speed and momentum with less than a millimeter to spare...

She alighted on the balcony.

"Uh, Kal...Do you think you could WARN me next time?!"

"I would've caught you if I thought you couldn't stop in time." He stepped through the glass doors.

Kara followed cautiously.

She was facing Clark and another, a black-haired woman.

"Kara Zor-El, meet my wife, Lois Lane-Kent."

Lois held out her hand. "Nice to meet you, Kara."

Kara shook it. "Thank you, Mrs. Kent. It's great to be here. This city of yours is amazing..." She turned on her X-Ray vision and looked around...

"Why can I see the Kent Farm from here?"

Clark sighed. "Telescopic vision. You turn it on and off like your X-Ray vision." Kara made the adjustments and her vision 'clicked' back to normal...then shifted into a ...thermal mode?

"What are you seeing, Kara?"

"Heat shapes on things..."

"That's infrared vision. Here's what to do..."

With that dealt with, her ultraviolet vision kicking on was nearly no problem. While Clark & Lois spent time in the kitchen talking, she practiced switching between her visions until it was almost intuitive.

She walked to the glass doors and stared out at the city. At all the lights and the energy.

And at the dark form throwing a screaming person off the highest ledge of a floating building.

She was in the air and rocketing toward the falling figure before she could think. _Gotta catch up to her first, and then I'll snag the person who did this_, she thought, and then realised_... If I catch her this way, the momentum will kill her!_ She modified her approach, and dropped feet first toward the ground, matching the speed of the falling woman. Snagged her safely.

"Got you." Kara said reassuringly.

The young blonde woman looked at Kara, her two black eyes wide eyed in shock, pulse racing in fear, and then at the ground, no longer rushing to meet her. Her arms snapped out in panic and wrapped around Kara's neck for additional support.

"Y-You've got ME...Who's got YOU?!"

Kara smiled and headed back up to the floating building where Kal was waiting, with a struggling figure in hand, alighting with grace on the deck.

Later, they were at the Kent apartment, having dinner.

She wiped the oil from her lips. "Ummm...what is this?"

"Deep dish pizza." Lois replied.

Kal smiled. "Like it?"

"What do you think? This is me you're talking about. Another favorite." Kara smiled and licked a bit of tomato sauce off her lips. Clark chuckled. "No surprise there. If we didn't have the super-metabolism we have, you'd be packing on weight like you wouldn't believe."

A couple hours later, Kara had gotten her first bubble bath, courtesy of Lois. She enjoyed it so much she really didn't want to get out. Ultimately, after an hour and a half, she forced herself to get out of the bliss and get ready for bed. Clark had unfolded the couch into a guest bed, set up the sheets, and then kissed her goodnight. He was startled by the snap of static electricity.

Weird, he thought. This never happened before.

He got into bed with Lois, and then turned out the light. And kissed her gently. "'Night, Lois."

"Mmmm...'Night, Clark."

A half hour later, after doing Kryptonian mind meditation, he nodded off...


	12. Chapter 11

He was standing in a plaza on a bright, sunny day, staring at the floating metal statue.

He turned to the colorfully clad blonde girl next to him and spoke. "You've contributed a lot to this world, Kara, and they've decided to thank you with this, a tribute to you, where your rocket landed so many years ago..." He smiled with pride and joy. "This is your day, Supergirl! We all want to thank you, and want you to enjoy it!" She hugs him, with that radiant smile, cheeks rosy with embarrassment at all the attention. "Thank you, everyone! This is absolutely wonderful."

_**FLASH!**_

He's speeding through the air, hoping against hope he'll get there in time.

Too late.

The speeding rocket skims the surface, and then buries itself half into the ground. He lands in the silence, and approaches the wreck, as the rocket vents fumes from what was left of its' RCS system. _Sad_, he thought. _The young lady inside couldn't have survived that. She won't be coming out alive! Might as well get her to the Metropolis Coroner...See where she's...she WAS from_. He wrenches the hatch open with super-strength...

The young, blonde girl opens her blue eyes and smiles at him, and then stands up, speaking in Kryptonese. "Don't worry, Superman! I'm alive!" She brushes some of the dust from her blue costume, and then looks up at him. She smiles again. "...And apparently, without a scratch!"

"Great Guns! You're unharmed?! You-You must be invulnerable like me to survive that wreck!"

She looks at him, an impish grin on her face, blue eyes sparkling. "Well, I AM from Krypton, just like you...Specifically, from Argo City. "

"That's impossible! I was the only survivor when it exploded 25 years ago."

She clambers, cat-like, to the top of her spacecraft and sits down.

"Well...Uh...Miss...I didn't get your name..."

"Kara Zor-El, Superman."

"Kara, and then. I do have a few questions...Why are you wearing a costume like mine? How did you know my name? How did you know I'm from Krypton?"

"Let me tell you a story. This should clear everything up...

When Krypton exploded, you were not the only one to escape alive..."

He listens to her story, as he uses his x-ray and microscopic visions on her arms and clothing. Very dense skin, muscle fibers and bones. Fabric is a very dense weave...She's definitely not from earth, and neither are the clothes...

Then he senses it. The darkness. Coming for her...

She looks at him and smiles sweetly...

_**FLASH!**_

He's following Dr. Light as she weaves through the Anti-Monitor's castle, finally catching up to her.

"Thank Rao you waited."

Kumiko looked at him with a frown. "I'm not stupid, Superman. Those are the machines we're looking for."

"You SURE?"

"I'm a scientist. This is my forte. I'm sure."

He flies into the room, lands on the ground. "Then they have to go. The earths must survive." He strides toward them...as his intuition screams in his head... a second before the most painful blast he's ever known slams into his back. He can't stop it. He screams with pain, as the blast knocks him across the room. As he loses conciousness, he feels the darkness getting closer, and his super-hearing picks up Kara, faintly:

"Ohmigod, KAL?!"

_Kara...NO! Stay away...It wants you... _He feels the Anti-Monitor approach. He hears rock getting pulverized as Kryptonian skin blasts through it. Getting closer. He feels panic beginning to well up, but he can't move. His arms and legs are lead.

He hears Dr. Light screaming. "...He created me to destroy you. I WILL fufill his wishes!"

There was an energy blast, followed by a short female scream. The gravelly voice speaks again, almost with amusement. "No, you will not."

_Damn, I still can't move!_ His hearing picks out her talking to the others as she rapidly winds her way to him. Reassuring and encouraging. Worried_. She's getting closer_, he thinks frantically. _Sheol, Kara, get OUT of here! Why am I so damn weak?_ He blinks his eyes and tries to get them to work, frowning. _Why is it I can turn coal into diamond, but I can't get my damn body to move?!.._

_**CRASH!!**_

He hears her as she breaks through the final wall.

"You?! You caused all this madness?!" Anti-Monitor grunts as steel-hard Kryptonian flesh starts to pummel him. He hears her heart beating like a triphammer. "You bastard! All those worlds and universes! All those people! Dead! Gone! How could life mean so little to you?!"

SMACKK! Steel against flesh.

"I shall not tolerate this any longer, girl. You shall NOT touch me again!"

The darkness is now so close he swears he can feel it brush against his arm.

Waiting...

_Arrgh...C'mon...c'mon! Move! MOVE!_

**_GET OUT NOW! KARA! NOW!_**

He woke, sweating.

Catching his breath, he looked at the clock. 2:35. He looked over at Lois, still sleeping soundly, curled up like a cat.

He quietly got out of bed and went out to the living room. He leaned against the corner and looked at Kara, thinking.

That was weird, he thought. I've had detailed dreams before, but none like that. It felt...real.

He silently floated over to the doors to the balcony, opened the door, and sat down on one of the chairs. _Is it Dominus? I very RARELY have nightmares like that, that are THAT realistic. Could he have escaped the Phantom Zone? _He leaned back, staring up at the moon. Absentmindedly, he cranked up his Super-vision and studied the remains of Apollo 11. _Maybe, but what would he gain out of those dreams? Those things never happened._ He leaned back, closed his eyes, and focused his super-recall. Reviewed his role in Crisis. Kara wasn't there. She was probably enroute to earth, and then.

_The floating statue was interesting, but how could we honor her if she didn't land here yet? Maybe that's from the future?!_

_The landing was a wonderful sequence. It felt...right...somehow. Very real. _He snorted._ Yeah, right! it was a Hypertime me and a Hypertime Kara._

He stared at the city in silence.

In the lull, he closed his eyes for a moment...

He hears the alarm in the lab go off.

_Professor Bolden was right! The Kryptonite chain reaction CAN'T be controlled. Thank Rao I was prepared! This lead dome should cover the reactor unit..._

He moves even faster, with the lead half-dome in his hands.

_Just hope I can make it...!_

He crashes through the roof over the core.

_I-If that radiation gets to me, I'm going to be very dead, very qui--_

The green tinted core explodes.

The dome is wrenched full from his grasp, and he's blown out the side of the building, to land on his back in the sand.

_Full K exposure...I'm a dead man..._

Blackness enfolds him.

He opens his eyes... And looks at the surprised thief, a smile on his face, and he continues.

"...or you're illiterate!"

He grabs the chunk of 'Kryptonite'.

"Always wanted to try this."

He bites into the chunk. Chews. Swallows.

Sees the thief's jaw hit the ground...

Followed by the thief after he hits him with a 'love tap'.

_Have to hurry, they're gonna be coming back from commercial soon._

He pauses...rubs his temples. _Damn migraine..._

"Clark? Clark?"

He opens his eyes.

"Urm...Sorry, hon. Weird dreams. Couldn't sleep."

Lois chuckled. "Seemed to be doing well enough to me!"

The throbbing returned. He rubbed his temples.

Lois looked worried. "Headache?"

He nodded.

"You DON'T get headaches."

He chuckled.

"First time for everything." He got up and held her. Kissed her. She caressed his cheek. "Let's go to bed."

Harbinger was in meditation, focusing on her breathing, when the vision came before her mind's eye:

Rock castle. The explosion through the wall next to her scared her half to death. A calming serenity then came over her and she watched curiously.

She saw the person that just shattered the wall like glass.

A young blonde girl, wearing Superman's colors.

She watched as the enraged girl whipped across the room, heading for...

_The Anti-Monitor?!_

The girl plowed into him, punching furiously.

She looked around.

_The machine room. Of course. Crisis._

_There's Superman and Dr. Light._

Looking back, She saw the Anti-Monitor give the...Supergirl?... a savage backhand that sent her tumbling head over heels across the room to land near her.

Everything in the vision slowed to a crawl but her.

She walked over to see who this girl was. Looked into the pained face of...

"K-Kara?"

The face was not quite that of the teenage girl she met, but looked to be in her mid-twenties. The eyes were ice blue, not gray, the hair was more of a platinum blonde...

But it WAS her.

Her body jolted out of meditation and she opened her eyes.

_Kara was there?_

Like an amnesiac, she ransacked her memories. Parts of the veil from before slowly lifted.

_Kara...WAS there! She WAS Supergirl at the time._

Another memory came and she shuddered.

"She died...He...killed her. The Anti-Monitor killed her."

She stared out the window at the starlit sky. _But how is she here now? And why couldn't I remember? Out of everyone that was there, Pariah and I alone remembered the infinite earths...I should have remembered something as important as Kara being there and dying. I remembered the Flash's death, why not hers?_

_Why would a hero be forgotten?_

The only response that came to mind was the image of the Super-videotape...

Harbinger was not the only one to remember a girl who never existed in their past.

Barbara Gordon poured the hot water into the cocoa powder and stirred. _One HELL of a day, she thought._

That JLA mission to deflect the alien fleet. That required some split second timing in the end, to get Bruce out of their command ship. Clark barely got himself free of the aliens that dogpiled onto him en masse, but once he did, he made a beeline for the bridge, snagged Bruce (who was a bit annoyed at the delay) and beat feet out of there.

The rest of the day was packed to bursting with Gotham work.

A couple of VERY slick drug kingpins, who made the mistake of setting up in Gotham, apparently had computer experts that were almost her level. Almost. Needless to say, they DIDN'T have Bruce. Working with her, the both of them homed in on 'drug central'. Ten minutes later, the Gotham police were summoned. Twenty minutes later, the lackeys ran, panicked, out the front doors to the police...BEGGING to be put away.

She chuckled. _Pushing 40, and the man is STILL the best at what he does. And what he does is still not very nice._ She shook her head in amusement and stretched her arms out above her head.

The work with Bruce was minor after that.

They tracked down a rapist, a murderer...and that was it for the night.

She yawned and blinked blearily at the screen.

_I don't know how the man keeps going. With his appearances both as Bruce Wayne and all his activities as Batman, you'd SWEAR he doesn't sleep!_

She wheeled out into the den. She placed her cup on the table, and maneuvered to the couch. A minute and a half later, she snuggled down on the couch with the TV on low, sipping her cocoa. She flipped through the stations.

"...Everyone knows her as Supergirl. Join us as we explore... WITHIN THE HEROES!"

"The first appearance of the Maid of Might can be documented all the way back in October,1988, in Metropolis. She helped..."

_There was one...earlier than that_, she thought tiredly. She slowly nodded off...

And dreamed of her meeting up with the differently costumed Girl of Steel back in the early 80's. A girl named Kara. This Supergirl had no flame wings, no telekinesis or shunting ability, but every power Superman wielded. She watched in the dream as she made best friends with the orphan from the stars... Until Crisis. _Dreaming?_ she thought. _Yes...Where...am I?_ She became concious and looked around at the stone fortress surrounding her. Watched as Kara, badly hurt and burned, savagely protected an unconcious Superman against a man in heavy battle armor.

_I saw this...in the vision...down at the church!_ _That's...the Anti-Monitor! **No!** I have to watch this **AGAIN?!**_

Dr. Light powers up, speaks. Kara, distracted, turns. "Get out, NOW!"

"You turn on me, Girl? That is a FATAL error!"

_Kara, NO!_ Babs chokes back a scream. She feels her heart rip open with pain as she watches her best friend's death all over again.

His massive hand envelops Kara's head. Kara manages to get out, "Oh, no..." A blast follows that knocks Babs into blackness.

She opens her eyes...And looks down at the speech in her yellow-gloved hands on the podium and continues...

"...but a hero's greatest measure is not power, but the courage they show in living and helping others each day, using the greatest power of all, what's in their heart..."

She sniffed and blinked back bitter tears, feeling the void of her lost friend burn her heart.

She steadied herself and continued. "Supergirl...is a true hero. She, and her sacrifice, will never be forgotten. It lives on in the earths and all the people she saved. As her people were wont to wish at times like this, May…Rao, her god, be…with…"

She pulls away from the podium as the tears blur out the faces of the assembled heroes, and she sags to the stage floor, crying_. My God…I can't do this! I should never had agreed to this…It's too much…to soon!_

She feels a gentle hand on her shoulder. She wipes her eyes and looks up... At a young, grey-eyed girl in a modern Kryptonian containment suit, smiling down at her. She speaks softly. "No tears, Barbara, you will get to know me again..." Her heart leaps, and shock overtakes her. She feels the world twist sideways as she says, "Kara?!"

She woke with a jolt. "Kara?!"

The haze of waking crept across her mind, leaving fragments. She fought for clarity. _What was that? Kara was fighting...The Anti-Monitor? I know I was at a podium...reading a eulogy... her eulogy..._ She took a sip of her now-cold cocoa and frowned.

Two more pieces came forward from the haze. She saw Kara wearing a strange bodysuit. _She said...I'd get to know her AGAIN._

She put her cup aside and got back into her chair. Headed back toward her database. With trembling fingers, she requested a secure uplink to the Fortress computers. _C'mon...C'MON! Please...be right! If there is justice up there, PLEASE let me be right_! She bit her lower lip nervously. Various passcodes later, she accessed the archives, and then the personnel scans...

And felt her heart pause, as the blood drained from her face.

There, on the screen, was the face that comforted, vindicated... and unnerved her, with grey eyes and all. Underneath, in English and Kryptonese was the simple legend: "Kara Zor-El - Daughter of Zor-El and Alura Zor-El (Inn-Ze)."

She sagged back into her chair in shock and relief.

"She's alive...again...but how?"

One last fragment surfaced. Her. From her speech... "Kara...is a true hero. She, and her sacrifice, will never be forgotten."

_But she WAS..._Babs thought sadly. _She saved the universe...and Superman. But she couldn't save herself..._

_And nobody remembered._

If it hadn't been for those creepy e-mails from Holy Martyrs parish and Father Stephen Patrick, she wouldn't have remembered Kara either.

The former Batgirl stared at the screen for a long time...Sadness and joy jockeying for position. Joy eventually won out.

_Just like Clark, Kara beat the Reaper, she thought. I don't know how, but she did it._

She chuckled. _Must be a family thing._

Then put her systems to sleep and went to bed.

**(See TesubCalle's story: 'Apokalypsis: An Unremembered Death' on for the whole story.)**


	13. Chapter 12

The dizziness spells and the almost continuous headache were annoying enough, he thought, as he flew over Metropolis, but these dreams and visions are getting real old real quick. It had started in earnest for him about a week after Kara came to Metropolis. The relatively mild headaches gradually changed. He was now getting savage, unpredictable, super-migraines, which usually came bearing unwanted 'gifts'...dizziness spells and visions of him doing things he never did. In places he never was. He had checked with the Fortress, and then with John. They each checked him out...and both said the same thing:

You're fine.

_Yeah, right. Tell that to the..._

The dizziness started. He sped down and carefully alighted on a nearby department store roof a second before his world collapsed into pain and insanity.

He was flying through the secret tunnel under his house. He had seen the Legion figurines flashing a high-priority code. He sped through the atmosphere and poured on the speed. And began to spin like a top. Faster and faster. He broke the speed of light with ease and continued his carefully timed acceleration until he figured he stopped at the 30th Century. He turned around and looked at the earth below. His telescopic vision confirmed the proper time. _There's the Legion clubhouse_, he thought, as he angled down and alighted on their front walk.

"Hey, Superboy. Long time, no see." A young lady dressed in white walked, ghostlike, from the clubhouse wall.

"Hey, Tinya...good to see you, as always. You have any idea what all this is about?"

"Yeah, but not here, Kal. C'mon inside. Brainy's ready to talk your ears off."

_Great, he thought. Knowing Querl, it'll take ten minutes to say hello... If I'm LUCKY..._

Abruptly, he was out of it, still holding his head.

"Nhhh. Superboy? The Legion? What the hell?"

The throbbing subsided back to a dull roar.

_Damn._ He thought. _Just like the others. It's ME, but I never DID this stuff... Didn't have my full powers 'till my early 20's. I NEVER was Superboy. I didn't have any blinking figurines. I can't break the speed of light. I'm NOT a Legionnaire. Who's Querl?_

_What, in the name of Rao, is happening to me?_ He grunted in frustration.

_If this turns out to be Dominus's doing, I WILL find a way to kick him to Krypton and back!_

He heard screams in the distance, and checked with his telescopic vision.

Damn. Metallo again. When it rains it pours. He got unsteadily to his feet and winced as his migraine kicked into overdrive.

"Oh, THIS is gonna be fun."

A gust of wind, and he was gone.

It was a busy night in Gotham, but that was normal for the ancient city. The criminal element, it's heart, was in overdrive. And he STILL could not get rid of the ever-persistant headache. Nor those damn fantasies that kicked in from time to time. The dizziness, however, was the biggest problem. It was a major distraction. He HATED distractions. They could be lethal. As could a fall from twenty stories up.

He was grappling toward the docks, two days ago, when the dizziness and the fantasy took over his vision and his mind. Instinctively, he tightened his grip on the Bat-Line as it started. Thankfully, when he slammed into the building at twenty miles per hour, it shook him free of the fantasy. He was left with a sore right shoulder, but he was alive. If he were to believe in spirits, he'd say it was his parents helping him.

_Get out of it, Bruce...They're DEAD. Have been for thirty two years. Keep focused on the present._

He flipped the communications toggle in the Batmobile, and opened the line to Barbara.

"Barbara, anything?"

"Yeah, I got into their computer system. These people are smarter than usual...Better hackers than usual..."

He smiled slightly. "But they don't have you, do they, chum?"

There was a pause on the other end. "Uh...Bruce...you okay?"

He was all business. "Why do you ask?"

"You just called me 'chum'."

"Oracle, you might want to get some sleep." He reviewed his last sentences. "I said...'But they don't have you, do they?'" He raised his eyebrow under his cowl. "I don't recall calling you...Chum."

In the clocktower, Barbara removed her glasses and rubbed her eyes. "OKaaay...Never mind. As I was saying, their hackers are funnelling money from the rigged Wayne Industries account, as well as a LexCorp one and two more from Titan Industries."

"Good. No problems?"

"No. I'll update you if anything changes."

"Good. Out." He turned the car around the city and decided to check out East Gotham.

The dizziness returned and the road seemed to spin. He put on the auto driver. "Destination: The Cave!" The computer voice spoke. "Cave. Computing." The migraine felt worse than before. "Nnnhh...Execute." "Cave. Executing."

The fantasy claimed him.

He remembered digging through the file cabinets in the cave.

"Hmmmm...'scratch-rider' and 'trap-artist'...Those are circus terms, if I remember correctly, Dick. Batwoman had to be a circus performer at one point to be familiar with those odd terms, and either performed them or KNEW someone that did so."

"Bruce, I've found the files we have on circus and theatrical people that have passed through Gotham..."

Twenty minutes later, Dick let out a yelp.

"Got it, Bruce! Here!" Smiling, the Boy Wonder handed over the newspaper article. Bruce read the caption over the picture:

"KATHY KANE, Star Trap-Artist and Trick Motorcycle Rider."

Bruce frowned. "Kathy never mentioned to me that she was part of a circus troupe..." He paused, eyes closed, his mind rewinding to the events of the dinner party the previous night, which he had attended as Bruce Wayne.

One image stood out.

"But...Batwoman DID come from the direction of her house."

Dick smiled. "She has to have a secret area either next to or under her house..." He found the Gotham cave and tunnel charts.

Bruce studied it, and then his face brightened.

"There! The old mine tunnel. Kathy's house is now right over that."

"Bruce, I'm not sure this is a good idea. She DID say that you would expose yourself if you exposed her..."

They were standing in the darkness as the motorcycle came roaring in.

Batman stepped forward. "Good evening, Kathy."

The lithe form in yellow and red dismounted the cycle, with a frown on her face.

"You figured me out. I expected this...You ARE the world's greatest detective." She removed the mask from her face. "But you have given up your OWN identity in the process!"

She hesitated. "I COULD track you down. I have secretly recorded your physical dimensions and weight as soon as you entered my cave."

His face looked worried.

She went over and swung her portrait away from the wall...

"Master Bruce?"

He opened his eyes. He was back in the cave, and he was looking up at a VERY worried Alfred and Tim.

His headache pulsed, and then dialed back to a steady throb.

He smiled shakily and got out of the car.

"Don't worry, Alfred. One of the...headaches kicked in. The Batmobile auto-driver did very well."

Alfred shot a side-glance at a worried Tim.

"I DO believe you should...cease...your nocturnal activities until this...problem passes."

He rested a hand of Alfred's shoulder and smiled. "I have it under control, Alfred...Nothing to worry about." He looked at both of them again. At the concern written clearly across both of their faces.

"Tim?"

"Uhh…Bruce. You're smiling. You DON'T do that. As much as I'd like to say otherwise...It's not you. It's unnerving."

"Agreed, Master Tim. Master Bruce, you may not LOOK ill, but something is quite definitely wrong upstairs. More so than usual. For the past thirty-two years, I could count the number of times you've smiled like that on one hand. Now you've done it twice in as many minutes." He cleared his voice and continued.

"I want you to get yourself checked out. Something is clearly wrong. First, you complained of sporadic headaches. And dizzy spells..." He paused, and then continued dryly. "...Then you play 'chicken' with a building. You are indeed fortunate your grip held."

Tim thought for a second. "Bruce, we have recorded your brain engrams in the past, and have the proper medical scanners here that could prove this conclusively to you now. I've read that no two brain patterns are the same. If that's the case, and you ARE fine, there should be no difference between the old recordings and any new ones...but if they're different..."

Bruce nodded, and then paused, looking at both of them intently. "All right...If it calms you and convinces you that nothing IS wrong that aspirin wouldn't fix, by all means, chum."

His two closest friends looked at each other nervously, wordlessly, and then Tim went to work. Alfred lagged behind.

"Master Bruce, pardon my asking, but what if they DON'T match? If such a thing was happening to Master Dick or Master Tim, you would be adamant about them stopping patrols until they returned to normal. In the interest of safety, the same must apply to you as well."

He stared at them both, musing. Both were loyal beyond question, and either would walk through fire for him. He trusted them and their judgements. Neither was prone to fooling around on a subject like this...

"If they don't match, Alfred, we'll see if Dick can take over for me until we figure out the cause." He gave a small smile. "I don't want to see me spattered all over the streets any more than you do."

It took Tim and Alfred 20 minutes to set up the necessary machines, another 15 for the tests. 30 seconds after that, the computer ran the results through the Crays and posted them on screen.

Physically, aside from the hurt and healing shoulder, he was fine. Top shape. He smiled and toggled to the engram screen. Bruce stared dumbfounded. Close but no cigar. The new engrams were very close to the old, but deviated in a number of key areas. It COULDN'T have been sloppy technique. He was watching them. They both performed the tests perfectly. Apparently, it WAS him. He frowned, and then flipped on the communications link to Barbara. "Oracle, see if you can get through to Dick. Tell him...I need to speak with him urgently."

"Right, Bruce...out." He toggled the link off, and began to type intently on the Crays, calling up 'Net information on headaches...and hallucinations...

Two weeks later, Kara was getting alarmed, watching the news and reading the papers. Kal was very obviously not behaving like himself, getting quite agressive... almost becoming a bully, at least as far as some crooks in Metropolis were concerned. Not even ten minutes ago, there was another live report on GBS. Tina Tilby reported about a group of terrorists that had threatened to bring Metropolis down with 15 well-placed nuke-level explosives, and they were not telling the SCU where they were, nor who they reported to. Frustration was written large on Maggie Sawyer's face.

Until Kal showed up.

He grabbed the leader with a frown...

And with an effortless swing of his arm, flung the leader straight up 50 stories.

And then flew up after him.

The cameras focused in on the two dots as the Man of Steel paced the leader as he fell, screaming like a banshee. The Man of Steel seemed to very calmly ask questions.

The leader ultimately must have relented, because seconds later, Superman had deposited him on the ground in front of Dan Turpin. The leader was shaking so hard he almost couldn't speak, much less be aware of the rather large wet spot now blossoming across the front of his pants.

But he was now MORE than willing to talk!

The rest of the terrorists were rounded up in a blink by Kal, and 14 of the bombs were quickly found and defused. Only one was left, and the other terrorists weren't talking...belittling and cursing their leader for being so weak.

Superman smiled grimly, and disappeared with them one at a time...

Needless to say, after outracing, and then playing 'chicken' with a rail whale, one of them, panicked, told him what he needed to know.

He found the last bomb with ten seconds to spare. It was flung into space before it detonated.

"We didn't have TIME to play nice, Kara! They were planning on levelling half of the city!"

She was calm, but her grey eyes crackled with anger. "Kal, YOU were the one that reminded me not all that long ago that with the power we wield we must be careful not to hurt others. You have been complaining about dizziness and visions for weeks now. What if a seizure had taken you while you were following that man down? He may have been in the wrong, but he DID NOT deserve to be treated like that! Nor did the rest of them! How would you like to die that way? Why haven't you had yourself re-checked by a doctor recently?!"

Kal's face hardened. "It's been too busy lately, and I've been managing it just fine. I'm gonna drop by the Steelworks tomorrow, anyway. Kara, you don't understand what it's like to be out there, fighting those morons who just want to kill people!" He paused a second and his face darkened. "They've got to consider me a joke at this point! If Bruce chases them down a dark alley, they run like hell! If it's me, they're more frustrated than afraid! They KNOW I won't do anything nasty anyway! Maybe this will make them think twice."

"Yes, Kal. But is this before or after the one fifty story drop that kills them?"

Clark, disgruntled, with no answer, stared into space.

Lois got up, moved behind him and tried to massage the diamond-hard muscles. "Clark, I hate to take her side...but you really HAVEN'T been acting normal for the past two weeks. The Planet was going nuts again today with questions of your sanity." She went over to the counter and picked up two of the folded newspapers. She placed them in front of him. Both with the same AP photo: A closeup of the leader and Superman, from the chest up, during the decent.

"Daily Star headline: MAKING THE NASTY!" "Daily Planet headline: TAKING IT TO THE STREETS?"

Lois walked to her husband's side, and gently lifted his head up to meet her gaze, brushing the light glaze of sweat from his forehead with her other hand. "Kara has only known you for months...I've known you for YEARS." She gently caressed his cheek with her other hand and continued. "Trust me when I say there's something DEFINITELY wrong...You are emotionally ALL over the map. The people are beginning to worry you are under someone's mental control again."

She paused and ran her manicured fingers through his hair. "You need help. Get Emil. Get John Henry. Get J'onn. Have them check you out... Before you wind up doing something you'll regret later..."

He stood up and walked to the balcony, and stared out the window at the city for two minutes. He hesitated, and then spoke softly with a shaking voice. "The...scary thing is, whatever is causing these...visions...is making me lose track of what I did and didn't do. Two days ago, I...found myself reliving my days as Superboy."

Lois looked at Kara, fear written across both of their faces. "But, Clark, you..."

"I never WAS Superboy. I know. My powers weren't on to any major degree until I was about 24. But when it happened in the vision it...I don't know...It felt right..." He paused, wiped the sweat off his brow, and continued. "In my MIND, I KNEW it never happened..." He hesitated, swaying slightly, and then continued. "...In my HEART, though...I know it did...somehow..."

He stopped and rubbed his temples, wiping his now sweaty hands on his pants. He turned back to the kitchen, dizzy, and then grabbed the wall in an iron grip, crushing plaster and wallboard. Kara stood up and spoke, frightened. "Kal, you better sit down fast...Your heartbeat is beginning to fluctuate wildly."

Since Lois was closer she moved in.

"Yeah, I don't feel so well..."

He staggered, and then collapsed like a sack of meal.

"Clark!" Lois ran to him, tried to lift him up...with little success. Lifting a car would've been easier. She saw a blur of movement out of the corner of her eye, and then watched as Kara appeared at his side and put her hand gently on the crown of his head. She watched as Kara's eyes glowed: Amber, Blue, Gold, White...as she shifted through her vision powers, trying to glean as much info on his condition as she could. She finished, and then lifted him into her arms effortlessly. She put him in the Kent bedroom and closed the door.

"I think...we'd best let him rest." Kara held Lois as she fought back tears. Lois looked into Kara's eyes and noticed the tears and fear there, as well. "Have courage, Lois. We'll figure out what's causing this. He's led a blessed life so far...I don't think Rao will change that now." Lois startled as Kara suddenly disappeared, and then reappeared again, in her dark blue containment suit, Superman's gold belt and buckle around her waist. "I'm going up to the Watchtower, and see if anyone has any ideas on how to help him."

She pressed the hidden button on the buckle. "Diana, Oracle, Batman, J'onn: Could you please meet me on the 'Tower? There's something wrong with..."

Diana's voice came over the miniature speaker. "Superman? Yes, we know, Kara. We're already here. We have...other problems as well. Prepare to beam."

"Ready." A dance of light and she was gone.

And Lois sat on the edge of the bed, praying and worrying over her husband...


	14. Chapter 13

Kara materialized inside the transport tube. She waited for the nausea to pass, and then got out. She was met by an unusually tense Diana, J'onn...and the one the TV called 'The Flash'. She reached out and shook his hand.

"I'm Kara."

"I'm Wally. They call me the Flash."

"I know. Nice to meet you." She turned to Wonder Woman.

"Kal has been having visions of himself doing things he never did for the past two weeks, and is beginning to have his personality seemingly eroded by this."

Diana put a gentle hand across her shoulders and steered her toward the nearest doorway and into the main meeting room.

She stared at the form in black curled fetally on the meeting table. She sighed heavily. "He's not the only one."

Kara stared at the scene in shock. "When did this happen?"

A mechanized female voice spoke. "The collapse? An hour ago. It appears to have started about two weeks ago."

Kara looked at the glowing green holographic mask hovering in the air.

"Oracle, I assume? I'm Kara..."

"Kara Zor-El...I...know. It's nice to meet you. Hopefully, I'll meet you personally someday soon. Niceties aside, his closest associates noted a sizable change in his demeanor about a week after he first mentioned having powerful headaches and dizzy spells interspersed with 'fantasies', as he called them."

Kara cranked up her hearing and focused her X-Ray vision. "His heartrate and respiration seem awfully high. Fluctuating, too." She shifted to Infrared. Looked at Batman, and then Wally for reference, and back again. "His body temperature also seems abnormally high. It looks very much like what I read off of Kal after he collapsed five minutes ago."

J'onn spoke quietly, his baritone filling the air. "It appears that Batman may have caught whatever Kal has."

"Maybe your medical facilities could help?"

Wally shook his head. "Nope. We have no baseline stats for him. Batman would never submit to an exam. Besides, what we have here is for basic bone setting and first aid. We haven't really had the need for extensive scanning machines yet."

Kara paused and thought for a minute. "I have an idea. I don't know what Kal would think of this, but... Please ready Batman for a trip..."

The Invisible Jet landed on the snowy outcropping. Kara was standing there with Kal in her arms. J'onn landed right next to her with Lois, who was bundled to the nines. Diana reached in to the Jet and gently retrieved the Dark Knight.

Kara indicated the black sphere just in sight. "Let's go." They entered the sphere.

"Stay here for a moment. The security droids have to scan you."

They waited briefly as the puck shaped droids scanned J'onn, Lois, and Batman's limp form.

Kelex floated up. "Mistress Kara, what brings you here? What is wrong with Kal-El?"

"I...We don't know, Kelex. Ready the infirmary and the biological scanners. Two beds. TOP PRIORITY!"

"Acknowledged." The gold robot nodded and hurried off.

They landed and looked around briefly, waiting for the droids to finish. Five minutes later, Kelex returned and asked them to follow. They entered the infirmary and laid the two sweating forms on the beds.

The robots restrained the men with force fields, and went to work scanning. Outside of erratic body functions, the most disturbing thing found was the mental pathways of the two were breaking down and reforming. J'onn asked the others to leave, and he mind-scanned each of them...

"Kara?"

"Lois? You okay?" She sniffled slightly and nodded. "Just...thinking, we should get Emil Hamilton and John Henry Irons. If anyone in Metropolis understands Clark's physiology, it's them."

Diana rested a comforting hand on each of their shoulders. "I think we should get Ray Palmer as well. His additional wisdom can only help."

Kara hesitated, nervous then nodded. "If you can communicate with them, let's get them here, please."

By the evening, John, Emil and Dr. Palmer arrived and were scanned in.

Three hours later, it was getting worse. Clark and Bruce had gone into a form of delerium.

John, Emil and the Atom were running scans, when they realized something horrifying...an abnormal energy buildup in the brains of the two, accompanying the mental pathway breakdown. Kelex and the robots made a device to siphon off the energies, and applied it. Then applied a stasis field to each of them to slow the breakdown.

It worked...then the energies started to build again.

"It doesn't make any damn sense!" John Henry fumed and paced like a tiger around the room. "This energy can't come from NOWHERE! And where are their minds getting the pattern for the reformatting?!"

"Reformatting?! I thought you said they were breaking down!" Lois focused and blinked the tears out of her eyes. Kara quietly hugged her.

Emil spoke up. "Both are true, Mrs. Kent. Each of our brains look the same physically, but are 'wired', or 'formatted' differently, due to the neural connections formed throughout our lives. This is what gives each of us our unique personality. It's something like a computer disk...The little bits are set in a unique way, and that allows it to be read as a specific disk with specific data on your computer. If you were to hold a magnet to it and repattern the bits in a different way, the computer will read it differently...or not at all."

Dr. Palmer spoke. "This repatterning is most likely the reason for the change in personality of both of them...but, like John Henry put it, we don't know WHERE their brains are getting the template for this somewhat organized reformatting."

"If there WAS no pattern," John interjected, "They would just become vegetables."

Kara looked puzzled. "But why the sweating? They're acting as if they've got a flu or something similar..."

Emil pushed his glasses back up on his nose, and thought for a minute. "I don't really know...but if I were to hazard a guess, I'd say this is their bodies' best reflexive way of trying to stave off the mental changes...like their immune systems going after a virus. But...unless we can find what is the CAUSE of their brain change, and soon, we run the risk of their bodies exhausting themselves and shutting down..."

John Henry thought quietly for a minute, and then asked Kelex for a phone line connection.

Kara and Lois took turns trying to cool Kal and Bruce down with damp towels. It was even more painful than they originally thought as both of the legends were mumbling as they passed into and out of the delerium.

Kal:"...father...Jor-El...he passed through me..." "Him and mother...in Kr..ton Bureau of...stigation..." "Supergirl...created by Jimmy...Too much wind...roof blew off." "UNNGHH...Daddy, no! Krypto stay!" "Monkey? It can FLY?" "Pa, what's wrong with me? Why...these powers?" "...can help as SUPERBOY!" "Legion..."

Bruce: "...like...friend Superman on earth...can fly...bent metal like putty." "...mother told you no...Helena." "...get me a shoe for the souvenir case." "...leg can't heal in a couple days, Kal!" "Mother...Father...No. NO! No. Alone..."

Kara looked up, sadly, at Lois. "Why did this happen? To them of all people? All they do is to try to help others...and they get more pain in return..." Lois brushed back her tears, and just shook her head.

"...p-please stay. Stay with us, Kara!" Kara froze, chills running up her spine as she listened. "...stopped the machines...don't die!"

Suddenly Superman pushed hard against the restraints, the veins in his neck standing out in full relief, white hot rage written indelibly across his face. He let out with a roar that nearly burst eardrums. "THE ANTI-MONITOR! WHERE IS HE? I-I WANT TO KILL HIM FOR THIS!!!" Just as abruptly, he sagged, and the sorrow was painful for all to see. "No...No...Kara...gone..." He whimpered, face etched with sadness, tears running down from his face.

Kara walked over to try to comfort him, brushed the hair from his eyes, and rested her hand on his cheek, fighting tears. "Kal...I'm here...I'm not going anywhere..."

"...Shouldn't have died...saved me...Kara...I'm sorry...wasn't strong enough...shouldn't have brought her here." His expression went blank.

Kara looked down at Batman, her thoughts running wild. Her recall snapped back to her first dream. _He died in my arms...Blonde hair...'please stay.' Dear Rao! Could this be MORE than just dreams?_

"Kal, SHHH...I'm HERE. I'm fine. Relax and we'll..." Then the bed alerts went off over The Man of Tomorrow.

Kara panicked slightly, as John Henry ran over. "What is it?! What's happening?"

The alarms over Batman's bed went off too. Dr. Palmer scurried to read them.

John Henry took the readings and his shoulders sagged. Went over to Batman's bed, studied the readouts, and then turned to Kara and the rest. With a grim expression on his face, he took a deep breath.

"Good news and bad news. Which do you want first?"

Kara gulped, tears in her eyes. "Good news first..."

"Okay...The good news is: They've stabilized for now."

"What's the bad news, John?" Diana looked at Kal with fear on her face.

"The bad news: They've both gone into comas. This may be their bodies' last ditch effort to stop the...virus...or whatever the heck this THING is."

"If we care about them, ALL ideas are on the table NOW...

Or they may not HAVE a later!"

"What are we looking at here?" John Henry asked, leaning against a nearby computer console with his big arms folded across his chest.. "First one gets erratic, and then the other...there has to be a connection or two."

"He was complaining of dizzy spells and migraines, that started light and increased in intensity..." Kara said.

"...And Oracle said that Batman's friends noticed that he complained about the same thing." Diana continued. "So this...'virus'...would seem to leave the dizziness and migraines as...'calling cards'.

"He said...he dreamed of being Superboy." Lois quietly wiped tears from her eyes. "He also told me about dreaming about situations that he was never in, but it…'felt real'...Out racing a train with a crook in his hands, smashing through a wall to stop an execution..." She took a deep breath and steadied herself. "What about Batman?"

"Good question." Kara replied. "Did Batman confide in anyone here?" She looked around. They all shook their heads. John thought for a moment, and then went to work on the main computer's keyboard. Seconds later, a familiar cyber face popped up on screen. Oracle.

"Oracle, you've worked with Batman in the past...Did he confide in you as to any visions he was having?"

"Sorry, Steel...You know Br...Batman. He's not a person to talk about that. He'll just keep shouldering it in silence until he breaks, and even THEN...How are they, by the way?"

"Bad...They WERE delerious...They're NOW in comas."

Oracle's voice rose slightly in nervousness. "How long is it likely to last, Steel?"

"As of right now, Oracle, not a clue...not a damn clue! This whole thing has been an exercise in lunacy from the start...!"

Kara studied the forms from a distance. "John, excuse me...they were talking before...BOTH of them. What if they were both still having dreams? Batman said something about 'They're dead' and 'I'm all alone'. He might have been reliving the deaths of his parents..."

He nodded. "Let's assume that's it...Are there any other ideas? They both had dizzy spells, headaches, and visions..."

Kara had an intuitive flash. "I had dizzy periods...Two of them. One when my heat vision kicked on for the first time...and the second time when I met Mr. Mxy and he charged me up three weeks ago." She paused, and then paled. "Oh, Great Rao...It was ME. It was my fault. I must have done something...it went to Kal...then he probably passed it on to Batman."

Diana walked up to her and put a arm around her shoulder. "Even if it came from you, Kara, you are blameless. If you knew something was wrong, you would have warned Kal."

There was a hubub outside, of the fortresses security systems kicking in.

Kara blew out of the room and came face to mask with a man in a gold mask and cape.

"How did you get here?! Who are you?!" Kara braced for attack, eyes glowing red.

"Kara, NO! He's with us! I asked him here! It's Doctor Fate!" John Henry gestured them both down.

Kara hesitated, and then relaxed and looked at Kelex. "Stand the Fortress down. He's...not a hostile." Kelex nodded...and the alarms abruptly shut off. The puck-shaped droid got his scan and left.

"John, who is this? I've never heard of Doctor Fate."

"Kara, he's a mage, a protector of order. I called him here because I think that magic is the source of the problems. Superman, and presumably, you too, are vulnerable to three things: Kryptonite, mind control...and MAGIC."

Kara walked with Dr. Fate toward the room... Wait a minute, she thought frantically. She suddenly blurred into motion and came to rest by the bed with the re-cowled Batman in it.

They deactivated the restraints and moved back. Whispering chants under his helm, Fate hovered into the air, lifting the prone bodies of the heroes in a magical field.

For two minutes they remained motionless and silent, and then all three lowered back to the ground.

Fate walked over and removed his helmet. Smiling sadly beneath his white beard, he said, "It IS a magical energy, of a sort...but it's so distorted I can't really get a lock on what it's origin IS.

I CAN put them in a strong suspension field to further preserve their bio-energies, but I don't DARE to try to remove the magic without a firm identification...Even with Nabu's assistance, I could do even MORE damage than what has already occurred. Mindwork that is needed, as in this case, is delicate and is the province of god-level beings. What is happening here is also likely affecting their spirits as well. The two are tied strongly together."

Kara flew back over to the group, looking at J'onn first. "J'onn, when you scanned them, did you feel as if any other outside source were generating the changes in their minds? I read that that Dominus that Kal was talking about had mind powers, as well as other unexplained ones, and that he did something like this before...?"

He shook his head. "That was what I was looking for, Kara. I did NOT find it. The new thoughts..." He paused, gathering his own. "...WERE theirs. To someone who is not a telepath, it is a bit hard to describe, but the thoughts' 'fingerprints', though different from their usual thoughts, were a clear match to each of their personalities. If it was Dominus, now I know what to look for, it would stand out prominently, aside from the fact that he would NOT do something like this. Aside from turning them both into vegetables, he would have nothing to gain..."

Kara thought quietly, and then looked at Fate.

"Scan me." was all she said.

Dr. Fate looked puzzled, "But you're not sick..."

"I may be the one that started this problem. Hopefully you'll get something more out of me." Fate nodded, and put his helm back on. He began the chant again. Kara felt a weird but pleasant warmth encapsulate her as they lifted off the ground, which abruptly ceased a minute later. They both landed and he looked at Kara.

"It's definitely other-dimensional energy. Your cells are showing it more clearly, and in less distorted of a fashion. It still is not really compatible with your body type and should be removed, though."

"If it's not as dangerous as what Kal and Batman have, I can wait." She paused for a moment. "Could it be fifth dimensional-based magic?" Kara enquired.

Fate closed his eyes and muttered quietly, seemingly to himself. He opened his eyes and nodded. "That would be about right. The vibrations would match with that plane of reality."

Diana walked over. "So that would seem to confirm your theory, Kara. But if Mr. Mxyztlptk did not mean your power up in a malicious way, something else happened to trigger the change when it jumped to Kal. But what?"

Alarms went off.

"Damn!" John Henry exclaimed. "Kal."

He pulled back just as a dark blue blur screamed past him.

They all heard her panicked scream a second later.

"JOHN! DR. PALMER! NO HEARTBEAT! HE'S NOT BREATHING!"

John had never seen Diana use the full speed of Mercury until that moment. She suddenly just was...gone...A gust of wind in her place.

He entered the room at a top run, and saw Diana doing CPR... Or trying to.

"Great Hera! I can't get a rise out of his chest...It's like trying to blow up steel balloons! Kara, get over here! You'll have the lung power! You breathe for him. I'll do chest compressions..."

Kara started emulating what Diana was just doing, but with greater success.

Diana slammed her interlaced fists down on Superman's chest...hard.

Again.

Again.

John whirled to Kelex. "Get us a defibrillator that will work on Kal-EL, NOW!" Kelex nodded, paused...and summoned four of the puck-shaped droids. Diana moved out of the way, and they settled two on either side of the bed, and extended cup-shaped arms at the end of cables to Kal's chest and applied the shock.

His body jumped, and then was still.

The droids shocked him again. The jump. No reaction.

Kara wanted to die on the spot, but kept breathing. Lois sagged to the floor. Emil came over to comfort her. "Nonononono...not again...please, God, not again!"

"Wise Athena, Mighty Aescalapeous, please hear me..." Diana whispered through the blur of her tears. "Not him. If Lord Hades wants someone...take me..."

Kara forced herself back to the breathing.

"Great All Father Rao, pufff if you can hear me, pufff please help us. pufff Don't take him. Please. If you must...puff Take me instead!"

She felt the warm tears spilling down her cheeks and onto his.

The robots jolted him again. Again.

"DAMN IT! Why isn't he responding?!" John Henry's fingers flew frantically over the keyboards.

He barely caught Emil's whisper in the madness.

"He's likely turned his back to the wall..." John turned around to him as Emil elaborated. "Kara. He's convinced Kara's dead...and that he failed his only surviving relative. It broke his heart."

Lois, shattered, got to her feet, and ran into the room to the bedside of her husband.

"Don't you DARE do this, Cl...Kal! Don't leave me alone! P-please stay!"

"I'm still not getting a heartbeat! Brain functions are nil."

Kara stopped long enough to scream hysterically: "DAMN IT, KAL! I'M HERE! DON'T YOU DARE DO THIS!!"

The Atom, crushed, turned from his monitor.

"We've lost him."

The only sound everyone could hear was the steady drone of the flatlined monitor... And the heart-wrenching sobs of the last survivor of Krypton...

As the world faded to white.

Barbara Gordon stared at the screen, in shock, listening.

_NO._

_It can't be._

_He beat it before._

_Damn it, God!_ She thought with tears in her eyes. _Why did you let ME live and kill HIM?!_

She slammed her keyboard, breaking the connection to the Fortress, and very nearly the keyboard, in the process.

_I...had to go through this with Kara, after she died to save him...and now SHE'S going through the same thing!_

She pulled off her glasses and wiped her eyes with the back of her hand.

_It has to be him, doesn't it?! She thought bitterly to the ceiling. Him and Bruce. They spend their lives helping, only to get taken out by a damn virus...The one man the world looks up to... And the one I look up to..._

_Nightwing and Robin are probably going frantic with worry._

Dick was none too comfortable with the mantle of the Bat, but had accepted it with Bruce's reluctant urging after the mental test.

_The new Dynamic Duo might have to work together longer than they thought,_ she thought bitterly. She wiped her eyes free of tears again and put her glasses back on. _Might as well let them know...be the first to give condolences to Lois and Kara AGAIN!_

She reached for the hotkey to patch her through to the Batmobile, when she heard the male voice behind her.

"There is more to this than there seems to be, Oracle."

She spun her chair around to face the Spectre, an Oriental woman in a white costume and a blonde woman in red and blue armor.

"H-Hal?!"

"Barbara, you are going to be needed. Come."

He waved his green-clad hand...

And they were gone.

The Fortress group all looked around in shock as the white faded. They were in a well-lit, white room with no definable corners. Kal and Bruce were stretched out on two human-length diases. There was a flight of steps in front of them, leading up to another level...

Where two beings of light were standing.

"Have no fear. This will work out. We are here to fix that."

Kara wiped her tears and responded with surprising venom. "Damn the Kraayn! How CAN this work out?! He's DEAD! AGAIN! And I signed his death warrant! Batman is a mental scramble and is only a matter of time before HE goes, too!"

They both decended the steps, and came to a stop in front of Kara. "Well, as Fate here said, they needed a higher power's assistance." the male said. "Besides..." He continued with a touch of amusement in his voice, "...You DID ask for help."

"How did you know that? And who ARE you both?! How did you get us here?! Talk or I'll..."

The male held up his hand. The both seemed to pause, concentrating. Gradually, their glowing forms took on a more human likeness.

Lois gasped.

The black haired man that materialized was dressed in white and well-muscled with low level armor on his shoulders, waist and shins...And he was a dead ringer, face-wise, for The Man of Tomorrow. Now the Man of Yesterday, she corrected herself sadly, and looked over at Clark's body.

She heard a quiet female voice. "He's resting. Don't fear." She looked to see the former light woman, with dusty blonde hair coiffed in an elaborately braided headcone, now dressed in a simple white dress, standing next to her. "His being, his soul is still present. It has not taken its final journey yet...the only problem now is getting his body to function properly again, so it can safely house it again."

"Can you do that?" Lois asked.

"We can. But we will likely need your help to do so."

Kara was quietly studying the visages of the two, who both radiated calm. They DID look familiar, but who...

"Who are we, my dear Kara? How quickly you forget. My name is Nara." The female smiled and walked back, stopping next to her compatriot. _Nara..._Kara thought_... Where did I hear that name before? Lara's grandmother was named that...after..._

She felt all the blood in her body drain into her toes.

_No. Oh...no..._Kara thought, horrified_...But that means..._

The man spoke with a gentle smile on his face. "And no doubt Kal used my name once or twice..."

"Great...Rao..." Kara whispered, trembling, wide eyed in shock and staring intently at the floor.

_Oh, Kraayn take me! I threatened and all but cursed out the Allfather!!_


	15. Chapter 14

In the same place, but somewhere else:

_Where the hell am I?_ he thought.

He looked around and saw his friends gathered, talking with two beings in white. And on the tables... _Bruce...and me..._

_Oh, great...Dead again...I should be seeing Kara anytime...now..._ A second later, he noticed a particular face in the crowd.

_She's alive?! What the hell? How? She died in my arms!_

He noticed a silver cord attaching his heel to the heel of his body.

_Hmmm...I've read about this...the Kryptonians called it K'aavacha...'The Life-Cord'...as long as that's intact, I'm still alive...in some capacity._

_We all are alive, my son..._ said a male voice into his head_. ...But on different levels._

He felt a blast of love hit him.

_Who?_

Two smiling souls clad in white biosuits walked up to him, hand in hand.

_Jor-El? Lara?_ He thought in shock...And then noticed another three coming up behind them...?

_Great Krypton! That's..._

_Zor-El and Alura, Yes, Kal._

The third soul 'spoke'. _It is good to finally meet the twenty-third generation of the house of El. I was Seyg-El, your grandfather._ Kal could feel the compassion emanating from him. He also noticed the soul's quiet gray eyes, which seemed to quietly take his measure.

_Please rest, Kal, you're safe, and are not going anywhere for the moment...Your body needs to be rebalanced and your physical mind restored_, said Lara. She reached out with an unabashed smile and hugged him.

_They have much to do...And we have much to discuss with the last head of the House of El. But by the glow of the moons, it is so wonderful to see you again..!_

Back in 'reality':

"You almost ascertained what caused the problem, but didn't quite figure out everything." Rao said, walking over to the diases.

Kara stood with her head bowed, trembling, reciting Kryptonese sotto voce.

Lois placed her hand on Kara's shoulder and spoke quietly.

"Kara...You okay? Who is..."

"My name is Rao...Mrs. Lane-Kent. I am...or WAS...viewed as the chief god of the planet your husband and Kara came from. This beautiful soul is my wife, Nara."

Nara stepped forward in front of Kara, gently placing one hand on her cheek, the other under her chin. She gently lifted Kara's head up. "Look at me, child."

"T-To look at either of you directly is to risk damnation."

"That is what your MIND says, Kara...what does your HEART say?"

Kara paused, and took a shaking breath. "N-No danger."

"I say again, look at me." Nervously, the quiet gray eyes opened and focused on Nara. "If it gives you succor, my child...'As in old, my daughter, I say now, you are in my charge, and under my protection. Be not afraid to speak, you need not fear us.' None shall harm you here, nor shall we allow harm to befall you or your comrades here. We will hear your words."

Kara swallowed nervously and nodded. "Th-Thank you, Blessed One."

Nara smiled gently. "Are you familiar with the earth game of 'telephone', yet?"

"No, Mother Nara."

"I am." Lois responded.

"What is it?" asked Nara.

"One person in a chain of people speaks a sentance to the next person. By the time you get to the end of the chain, what you end up with, sentance-wise, is usually unrecognizable as what you started with."

Nara nodded. "Kara, what you read about us has been 'telephoned' through over a hundred thousand years of changing Kryptonian protocols. Some of your people made changes to your scripture DELIBERATELY to scare you and keep you under control. Rao and I will NOT damn you to the Kraayn, as you call it, for looking at us. All we want of you, all we ever DID, is for you to love and trust us as much as we do you both. THAT'S what was lost in most of the translations."

"Perhaps if your people had realized that, Krypton would still exist." Rao replied somberly. Nara nodded. "But then earth would be deprived of two of her finest heroes."

Kara blushed furiously. Rao sighed and responded from across the room.

"...And Kara, my child, I do not take offense at your earlier response. Anyone suffering a loved one's loss, and then meeting us, under circumstances such as these, would easily do the same." His eyes danced with amusement. "...However, if you were to approach my younger brother, Zeus, with that attitude, it would likely be a different story. Am I correct, Diana?" Diana paused and chuckled slightly. "That is likely an UNDERSTATEMENT, Rao. Zeus has never been noted for being that…forgiving…"

Rao smiled and gestured at the prone figures on the diases. "Now...as I was saying...THIS was partially caused by Mr. Mxyzptlk's premature charging of Kara's energies before her body had fully processed Zor-El's pre-charge..."

"Lord Rao, forgive me..." Kara interrupted with a shaking voice. "But wouldn't my body have processed that charge earlier? He DID start it when I was 4 and a half cycles old. And I received more in the capsule enroute to earth..."

"True, my child, but that was your father's best GUESS on what the earth's sun would give you. It was slightly off, and a tad toxic to your cells. Your body was still slowly processing it and removing the toxins when the imp charged you both times, on Themyscira...and in Smallville. These 'ingredients' started this reaction.

The roots of the rest of the mutation, however, lay in two other points in the past."

"As you no doubt recall, Kal kissed you goodnight on the forehead the night you arrived in Metropolis, and got a static shock. This was the remaining magical energies leaving with the toxins. When it got into him, it was drawn to a dark set of memories not his and merged with them.

Around this time, he had started to remember..."

"Remember what...Rao?" John Henry asked.

"Remembering Kara's life here pre-Crisis...This conspired together with the toxins to create the mental 'virus'. The virus only had enough energy to infect one more person, though, so it jumped to Batman, during the alien bridge rescue. In its' final form now, it went to work on both of them simultaneously."

Rao looked up as the Spectre appeared with three women, a redhead in a wheelchair, Harbinger, and an Asian lady in a white suit.

"Good. Everyone is here. My thanks, Spectre."

Diana nodded. "Dr. Light."

"Wonder Woman."

Dr. Light looked at Kara...and felt...guilt?

The redhead hesitated, and then rolled up to Kara, and extended her hand. "You've known me as Oracle, Kara. Nice to finally meet you, in person, as promised."

Kara felt a tickle in her mind, like a door slowly creaking open.

"You...I...I know you, don't I?" Kara looked baffled and confused. "Your name is...Babs..Barbara." she whispered. The door opened a bit more, memories... hers, but not hers, flooding into her head.

"Barbara...Gordon. You were...Batgirl."

Babs nodded sadly.

"My earth birthday...was April 24, yours was the twenty fifth...What…happened to you? You were walking fine when we left to stop..." Her voice trailed off.

_The...Anti-Monitor? I never met this person? Thing?_ Kara thought, puzzled.

Barbara sighed. "I'll tell you about it later."

"You DID meet him, Kara. You met the Anti-Monitor." replied Rao. "And you paid the ULTIMATE price to save everything. But first things first..."

Nara sighed. "Let us get your friends up and healed. We have much to discuss about Crisis...and what happened with the Anti-Monitor."

Nara walked over to Batman, and placed her hands on his temples, closed her eyes and concentrated. An orange glow surrounded his body and he rose a foot into the air. He hung there for a seeming eternity, and then slowly lowered. The glow faded. After a minute, he stirred, and swung his legs over the side of the dias, alert.

"Where am I?! Who are you?!"

Diana relaxed a bit as she noted his familiar terse replies and body language.

"In order: Safe, and I HOPE you know..." Diana said with a gentle smile, as she helped him down off the dias. "The rest...we are still trying to figure out."

Rao closed his eyes and concentrated, hands on Kal's temples. Jagged, dark lightning played around Superman's body. Rao seemed to fight even harder, gritting his teeth in determination. Kal's body convulsed violently.

"Nara...I need you!" he cried.

Kara heard a rustle, and spun...

As a Batarang whipped by her head... And then disappeared out of the air, reappearing in Diana's hand.

She walked over to the Dark Knight and handed it back. "That is Rao. He's trying to help Kal, not attack him. Relax. We can't do anything yet. Let's be patient and see what happens."

The light show increased in violence and intensity. Lois could make out Rao gritting his teeth, determined to resolve the matter. The lights hit a fever pitch, and all had to cover their eyes.

As the light faded, the group saw Rao standing there, clearly drained, but grimly triumphant, holding a force sphere containing...a mobile...living blackness. Nara was healing Superman's mind and body with the orange energy as she did before with Batman.

"What is that, Lord Rao?" Kara stared fascinated and repulsed at the inky blackness.

"This is the core of the 'virus', the death memories. This is the root of Kal's and Batman's problem."

Batman frowned and studied it as Rao walked over.

The blackness seemed to lean on the globe in his direction. He felt a strange but familiar resonance in his being. "This has something to do with me, correct?"

Rao nodded sadly..."And it originated, in this case, with your nemesis, The Joker...and a certain imp from the Fifth Dimension."

Rao waved his left hand and one of the walls became an impromptu screen. "As Kal told you, Mxyztptlk, decided to have some fun with you both...so he went to see the Joker..."

Many minutes later, the group was silent, stunned as the absurd tale finished.

If it were possible, Batman frowned more. "Hrm...I TOLD him that those memories would resurface...AND affect him, somehow." Batman walked up to Rao and held out his hand. "I'll take those back. They're MINE, at any rate..."

His hand grazed the globe...and he froze. Kara heard a slight moan escape his lips as he collapsed to the floor, shaking his head to clear it.

Rao reached down with his free hand and effortlessly lifted a wide-eyed Bruce to his feet.

"This is why all of you are needed..." Rao replied sadly. "These memories are TOO intense for any one person, whether he be Kryptonian or human. They will invariably destroy any one psyche that they are transported to. My last son found that out the hard way...after taking on Batman's burden."

"You will have to spread these memories out among as many as you can. This force shield will allow, at most, five memories to a person, but NONE to Batman. You have to consciously and verbally accept the memories before the sphere releases them. There were at least 2,000 of Batman's Joker-created death memories in here. Kal's mental repatterning destroyed 1,000 of them. You will have to check with those you know to see who will consent to help take on the remainder."

Kara stepped up, followed by Diana, and rested their hands on the globe. They paused for a moment and each muttered something, nodding their heads. The globe glowed twice, and then went back to normal.

Twenty minutes later, the rest of the groups had volunteered to take on the problem...Bruce scowling, alone for the moment, looking like an inkspot in the white non-corner.

Elsewhere:

_I have enjoyed this, my son_, said Jor-El_. It is a comfort to know that the best of us now lives on in you..._

_...And our beloved daughter, as well_, finished Zor-El.

Alura reached out and cradled his cheek. _Please, Kal, let her know we ARE with her...and our love will forever be with her._

Kal hesitated, looking at the scene going on below, and then spoke, looking at Jor-El. _Ever since that day, when I was twenty-eight, and I encountered your...information hologram, father, I have never truly missed Krypton, never really felt a TRUE connection to that cold world. In fact, I thought of it, and all its' culture, later on the day of the encounter, as being 'ultimately meaningless'._

_I'm not so sure about that perspective anymore._

He hesitated, and all saw his glow dim; saw the sadness gnawing at his soul.

_Meeting you all here changes everything._

_You would likely not have liked us had you met us when we were still in life, grandson,_ said Seyg-El, laying a hand on his left shoulder. _The coldness and fear from the wars was still active in almost all of us...My sons, to a degree, were the exception. They were creative, curious, emotional, at turns...and mortifying to me. I had long since given up on trying to make them into what our world considered 'normal'. They, and their wives likely would have been the only people you would have been able to tolerate. I was always embarrassed by their emotionalism, and lack of propriety, but if Krypton had survived, they likely would have been the ones to help turn that around._

Jor looked at Seyg with humor dancing bright in his eyes_. ...And you would have tolerated that?!_

_No, I would likely have disowned you...after 450 years, you tend to get rather ...set in your ways..._Seyg responded with a slight smile and a shrug.

Kal felt a tug and saw the silver cord go taut. Rao had removed the damaged memories, and Nara was beginning to heal his mind and body.

_NO! Not now! There's too much to talk about! I..._

Jor rested his hand on Kal's right shoulder. _My son, you still have much to do, many you have yet to help and guide, before you join us. We will meet again, and will be with you always._

Lara walked up and looked at him... She saw the loss and pain on his face and racing about his aura. She kissed him on the forehead and caressed his cheek, and then cradled his head between her palms.

_Remember me, my child. _

_A-Always, Mother._ He struggled to control himself, resisting the mounting pull to the other world.

She hugged him. _Give my thanks to your earth parents. They raised you far better than we could have._

The rest quickly took turns hugging him, Jor-El last. He then held the fading soul by his shoulders. _You and Kara are the best of both worlds...and what we COULD have been; had we learned...Thank you for that...We live on in you._

The pull was too strong.

_No! I don't..._.


	16. Chapter 15

Wonder Woman picked up the globe as they heard a soft moan from the dias. Kal-El sat up, and spun his feet over the side, a sad, haunted look on his face.

Kara went over to help him down. She looked at him, her hand going to his cheek. "Are you alright? What happened?"

"I-I'll tell you later, Kara...It looks like Rao has something to say."

Rao hesitated and continued. "You will now see what you were brought here for." Rao walked in front of the group and began to explain... "Most of you have been afflicted with visions or nightmares lately... of what seems to be impossibilities or outright lies, most seeming to concern this young lady here."

One of the walls becomes a screen. Space. "Before the Crisis, there were infinite dimensions and infinite earths, not just the one you remember now..."

The 'camera' focuses in on a large world circling a red star. Zooms thru the cloud layer, revealing the rolling green countrysides and futuristic buildings. It goes into one, into a lab of a scientist, clad in green & red. He turns around. Kal's face wrinkled in puzzlement. "It's Jor-El! Why..." Nara shook her head. "This is not the Phantom Zone Krypton, Kal." "This is on the TRUE Krypton...before Crisis and the changes. The universe was greatly different then."

Rao's hand waved...now they were back in space. Krypton is roiling with pre-shocks. The screen splits. In one half, a spot appears, growing into an oddly-colored small ship. Its' Hyperdrive activates and it disappears in a flash. On the other side, Jor-El and Lara clutch each other tearfully, watching the ship disappear into the roiling green skies, praying for their child's safe journey, moments before their home collapses in on them. The screen unites, and the planet explodes, pulverizing the nearby moons. Kara heard a faint sniff, and looked at Kal, staring at the screen with great pain and loss etched in to his face, his eyes tearing. He saw her looking at him and he smiled weakly.

One piece of the world, swathed with atmosphere, hurtles away. The scene changed. The meteor strike. The father frantically assembling a rocket. The mother looking for a suitable home. Sewing a supersuit for their only daughter... The rocket speeding free of the glowing white chunk. Kara stood stunned. "My dream...I-It HAPPENED? That was real?!"

The rocket crashed to earth…and was found by the Last Son. "My dream..." Clark breathed …

And in that breath, A young girl matured under earth's yellow sun, and became a young woman.

The skies becoming red. Kara, in her twenties, in the mid 80's, talking with Batgirl on the roof of a building. "My dream..." Babs breathed.

And then they heard a man scream.

Kara turned as white as a ghost as the doors in her mind creaked open further. "Oh...Great Rao...I remember this..." she whispered in shock.

They watched as a blue, yellow, and red fury burst through a rock wall in an antimatter universe. Powered by fear and rage, she attacked the Anti-Monitor, protecting the prone form of the Man of Tomorrow... She turned to Dr. Light. "Get Kal OUT of here!" she screamed. Pummeling the villian she hears...

"...He is killing her! I have to help you!"

Kara whipped her head around. "No! GO...GO NOW!"

Just what he was waiting for... Everyone watching felt the dread envelop them.

The Anti-Monitor's hand practically enveloped Supergirl's head.

She heard the sneering Kraayn-voice, amused, as it was in her dream.

She recalled the panic she felt as she heard...

"You turn in battle, girl? That is a fatal mistake!"

"Oh, no..."

Dr. Light paled in shock, at the memories of what was now rising to the surface: the reality of Crisis. Her alternate Crisis memories were fading like a formerly comforting dream

_No. This…CAN'T be right. This HAS to be some trick_, Kimiko thought, staring at the wall. But it was not so easy to deny. She weighed her old memories with the new ones…and the old ones felt more and more ephemeral. The sadness and dread in her heart, while watching herself on the screen clinched it. While growing up in Japan, her mother was fond of saying, 'Even when the mind is confused, the heart KNOWS." Her heart ached as she watched herself distract the Girl of Steel...Feeling the truth of it hit her between the eyes.

She.knew it was true.

"Oh…God...No! I distracted..." She whispered to herself.

Kara sat on her legs on the floor, hugging herself. She closed her eyes but listened to the gut-rending blast, tears running down her face, her revived mind recalling the pain of the attack.

The scream. "KARA!"

Lois held Superman as he crumpled to his knees. Tears streamed down his face. "Oh my god, Lois...I remember! My God, this happened!...How...How could I forget?!" He whispered.

Kara forced herself to open her eyes and heard:

"C'mon, Kara...Don't give up. You'll make it. Pl...Please stay with us."

"I...I can't..."

Kal, followed by Lois, walked over, knelt and held Kara... and they watched and listened as the Grim Reaper came for her in another place and time...

The wounded Supergirl moaned slightly and spoke to a tearful Kal, who was cradling her dying form. "B...But it's okay...I knew what I was doing... I wanted...wanted YOU to be safe... You mean so much to me...so much to the world."

He finally managed to clear his tight throat. "Y-You succeeded in destroying the machines."

"Thank heaven...the worlds...have a chance to live..." She spit up a bit of blood from her rattling lungs and focused, with effort, on him. "Y-You're crying...please don't. You taught me to be brave...and I was..."

A bloody hand gently, lovingly, caressed his cheek, leaving red streaks behind. She smiled slightly, at great cost. "I...I love you so much for what you are. For how...good you are..."

The hand dropped. The heart stopped. A final, shaky rattle... and all was silence.

A pause. The Man of Steel clutched her still form to his chest, shoulders heaving silently. Then, all watching heard the scream of fear and fury that rattled two universes.

They all watched as Kal staggered to his feet, tears streaming down his face... He opened his eyes, and everyone watching took an involuntary step back.

Never, in all the time that Bruce, Diana, and John Henry had known Superman, had the ever seen him CLOSE to the state they were watching him in now. Dangerously close to homicidal... rage, grief, guilt and murder were written large on his enraged face and volcanically glowing eyes... "WHERE IS HE?! THE ANTI-MONITOR? I...I WANT TO KILL HIM FOR THIS!" Bruce started as he felt chill race up his spine.

Rao looked silently around the room. Enough of the heroes' memories had revived, so that almost ALL were in some pain over this.

Rao waved his hand. The visual continued, the focus shifted to a black-haired Lois Lane, sorrow etched across her face, holding a microphone.

"Lana...Batgirl will now give the eulogy."

There was a switch to Babs, as Batgirl, leaning on the podium before the assembled heroes, masking her grief as much as she could... Barbara whispered in time with the visual, "...Kara is a hero...she will be never be forgotten." As Babs watched, she felt her face warm with tears as her memories rose to the surface. She realized then that what she experienced that night in Holy Martyr's was only a small portion of what REALLY happened.

She was interrupted out of her reverie as the scene shifted again... the Man of Tomorrow, in front of his artic fortress, praying with fingers steepled over a prone figure carefully wrapped in a scarlet cape, with a S-shield over its' chest.

The group watched in sorrow and empathy as he slowly staggered to his feet, lovingly picked up his bundle, and flew it off to its' final destiny...

Rao sadly, waved his hand again. The 'screen' shut off. He paused, looking at the two last survivors of a doomed world, crying their eyes out in each other's arms, in joy and pain. There was a slight mechanical series of squeaks as Barbara rolled over to the two tearful Kryptonians. Kara reached out to her former best friend... Accepted, they all quietly cried together, united in their common past losses, and their relief in reunion.

_(Crisis dialogue by Marv Wolfman, "Crisis on Infinite Earths" #7 (of 12),_

_'Beyond The Silent Night' pp.38-40)_


	17. Chapter 16

Rao remained silent for about five minutes, watching as Batman walked up and silently squeezed Superman's shoulder, followed by Wonder Woman doing the same to a relieved and drained Kara. He marvelled at the love and friendship they shared, and then spoke.

"Due to the sacrifice of the Flash of the time, and my last daughter, the remaining earths survived, and then merged into one, but in the aftershocks in the new, merged universe, a number of your histories were restarted... Flash's history remained untouched, so, to this day, Mr. West uses his uncle Barry as his guiding light and inspiration. His death in Crisis was remembered and honored in a number of ways, most specifically now in the Flash Museum."

He paused and continued, looking at Diana. "Your reality was changed too, Diana. This time around, you became Wonder Woman much later, and certainly did not become a heroine in the '40's, as you were on Earth-2 Pre-Crisis. In the reforming reality, that absence was rectified by your mother, Hippolyta when she..."

"Time travelled to the 40's and worked with the JSA..." Diana responded in shock.

Nara spoke up "Kal, however...you were restarted...and extensively...'rebooted', if you will, and the 'ripples' affected you...and your family...the most. Bertron chose Krypton as the site for his attempts to build his 'Ultimate' being...And brought the power of cloning to your people, as their Golden Age was beginning...Krypton was radically changed." Nara frowned. "In this case, there appears to be the first appearance of ...something…altering the natural order of things. Seyg-El had only one son, Jor-El... and Kara was wiped from existance as a result. Krypton had only ONE survivor. For all her love and sacrifice, our Daughter's noble death was forgotten... No one remembered her because she no longer existed…"

"How...how am I here, then, Mother Nara?" Kara asked with a shaking voice.

"Through the actions of our former Green Lantern here." Rao gestured to the Spectre, who looked back at the group with a pained look on his face.

"When he triggered Zero Hour, and history rebuilt itself at the end, I was able to go in, and help create a younger brother for Jor-El..."

"Allfather, forgive my impertinance..." Kara stood and looked nervously at the floor right in front of Rao's feet. "Giving me new life is appreciated...but...why couldn't you step in and stop the wars on my world? Assuage their fears of death? Why did a WHOLE world HAVE to DIE?!"

Rao hesitated and Nara saw pain and sadness cross his features. He walked over to Kara and gently placed his hands on her shoulders.

"I couldn't...because they wouldn't LET me, child. They used my name but no longer believed. Belief requires FAITH, both of which are the purview of the heart…and NOT of the mind. After the wars and up to the time of the conception of the both of you, all that existed to them was science and logic, a society of…and BY the mind." He hesitated, and then continued.

"We ALL grow, Kara...all who live grow, learn...and advance in many different types of wisdom. But, at times, that wisdom and knowledge does come with a cost. As I wearied of the wars I fought in my youth, which your bibles told about, I moved on, searching in the one area of existance I hadn't conquered yet...the higher worlds spiritual. I explored, advanced...and moved past the point my brother Zeus is at now. The only downside was, I was now bound by a new set of rules. I could no longer just arbitrarily intervene whenever it suited me...YOU had to invite me in. YOU had to ask for my help. Otherwise, I would risk undoing what you came down to learn. Unfortunately, with a world of logic..."

"...They wouldn't ask...They COULDN'T ask." Kara replied sadly. "So they… locked themselves in a prison of the mind. Their fear grew, and you couldn't...guide them out of it."

Rao nodded. "Pre-Crisis, your people were a great deal more spiritual...as such, you both were NOT the only survivors... Kandor, a city of about 7 million Kryptonians, survived and ultimately found a new home, orbiting a red star. If it is any consolation...both of your parents survived then."

Rao walked back over to Kara. "All is done, but for four more items of great import...Kal, Kara, Mrs. Lane-Kent, over here if you please?"

Kal and Lois walked over, and stood before Rao.

He and Nara raised their hands up. Kal and Kara saw a warm orange glow surround them and then felt it lift them off the ground. They both felt a vague 'sucking' sensation.

"What are you doing to them...Rao?" came a curious, but hooded voice.

"Doing a final draining and cleansing of their cells, Batman." Rao responded, eyes closed and focusing internally. "Their systems still have residue of the Imp's magics within."

With a final flash, the purge completed.

Rao lowered himself, and Nara began to glow steadily brighter. Rao erected a tinted barrier around Lois and the others.

The glow steadily increased to almost sun-level brightness. Batman, Diana, and J'onn watched in silent wonder as Nara pointed an arm at each of the Last Children of Krypton...And let loose with a blinding white stream of energy at each. The white light slammed into the Kryptonians noiselessly, and was silently absorbed.

Barbara watched, fascinated at the expression of bliss on both of their faces.

Two minutes later, all three slowly lowered back to the ground. Kara blinked repeatedly, and noticed Babs looking at her.

"I...feel a bit lightheaded." She said with a grin.

Nara approached Lois, the barrier reforming around her. They talked privately for a minute. Lois nodded. Nara placed her hands on her shoulders, and closed her eyes for a moment. An ice blue energy surrounded Lois for a minute, and then faded. Rao waved his hand with a smile, and let the barrier fade.

J'onn got a sense of joy from Lois.

Kal looked at Lois curiously. "Later...Superman...You'll find out in a bit..." was all she said with an electric smile.

Rao walked slowly over to Kara. She nervously, hesitantly looked up at him.

"Well, we are making some progress, I think." He said with a smile.

"One last thing is called for, my dear...consider it a last gift from us... and a continuity, of sorts. I heard how you were designing your costume before all this madness began, and I think it's a very good idea."

He reached out with His left hand, and gently touched the back of his fingers to Kara's forehead. Pausing a moment, a smile crossed His face. He pulled his hand back, and then gestured with a flourish. The light danced around the Girl of Steel for a full minute, obscuring her, and then slowly faded...

Babs gasped.

Rao said with a smile, his voice booming through the room,

"Let this go out to one and all, after the fire and the pain...through the tempering fires of death and nonexistance... Krypton's Last Daughter has returned. Supergirl has returned. Stronger and more beautiful than ever..."

As the eyes around the room readjusted after the flash, they saw a black catsuit. The catsuit had burgundy shoulder caps that wrapped into the modified chest shield, also done in burgundy with gold inserts. An elongated arrowhead of dark blue stretched over her bosom and continued down the front, stopping at the point between her legs. A gold, multi-segmented belt wrapped around her waist, locking together in the front, forming a slight V-shape. She was wearing dark red boots, whose fronts came to a raised top point, and were topped by a thin band of gold at the top. Her gloves were burgundy, as well, extending up to mid-forearm, again coming to a point and were topped with a pinstripe of gold.

This look was further accentuated by a burgundy cape that stopped at her calves.

Kal's eyes went wide.

"Kara..."

"Kal?" She followed his pointing finger and looked at her cape. Pulling it into her hands, she saw the familiar alien cuniform down the center, now interrupted near the top with the modified S-Shield.

Rao placed a hand on her shoulder and nodded. "It IS your father's vestment. Whenever you show in public as Supergirl, it will display your heritage for all to see. The love of Zor-El & Alura will be commemorated." He smiled, and then added, more to Kal than anyone else, "And since the material came from Krypton, it will be greatly resistant to damage...not invulnerable, but close."

Nothing more was said as Rao watched the cape become wet with silent tears.

Babs rolled up, Batman by her side, J'onn, Diana and Kal behind them.

"How do you feel, Kara?" Barbara said with a smile.

"I feel...new...reborn." She smiled, scrubbed the tears from her eyes with the back of a burgundy glove. and then looked around with a radiant smile. "Thank you, everyone. This wouldn't have ended at all well without all your help. Two important people might well be dead...and I would still...feel alone."

She walked up to Batman and sobered a bit.

"Thank you as well. Your words in the 'Tower were of great value to me." He nodded silently and graced her with a faint smile.

Bruce chuckled mentally, looking at Kara and Kal. _So much alike…They are so much alike. But how will her immersion in her homeworld's culture affect her here?_ He sobered a bit._ I think I'd best keep an eye on her. The arrogance she had initially COULD be dangerous if it returns._

Rao lifted his hands. "It is time for you all to return to your daily lives...just remember what has gone before..."

"Lord Rao, may I ask you one thing before we part?" He nodded. Kara turned her back to the group, and static filled the air briefly. They saw Rao look at the group, and then nod and reply.

Kara bowed and turned back to the group. Kal looked at her curiously...just as everything went white.

They materialized back in the Fortress. Kal ordered the robots to ready food for everyone. They ate an hour later and then all prepared to leave.


	18. Chapter 17

EPILOGUE: Two hours later, Lois was watching as Kara flew over to Kal, standing on a rock outcropping and thinking.

"A penny for your thoughts..." She gently squeezed him on the right shoulder. He looked at her. She could see sadness and indecision in his features.

"Kal...?" she prodded.

"You have Seyg-El's eyes, and Alura's lips."

She stared at him. "How do you..." She paused. "Something happened while Rao and Nara were healing your body." It was clearly not a question.

"I...was in between life and death, confused as hell...And then I met five souls, who helped calm me. Jor-El, Lara, Seyg-El and..."

Her eyes widened. "Mother and Father." she whispered, tears rising. "What...did they say, Kal?"

Lois watched silently as Clark rested his hand on Kara's sagging shoulders. She wiped her eyes and he hugged her. They both lifted off and flew back toward her in formation, landing seconds later in front of her.

Clark looked at her and nodded sadly, looking out over the frozen wasteland. "There was more to my past...to Krypton...to Jor-El and Lara...than I ever guessed. I...lost more than I thought."

"Well, Kara'd be able to help there. No one would be more able to put a...human...face on their culture." She looked at Kara, curiously. "What were your people like?"

"Fearful and isolated. We were so afraid of all who were different...Afraid of feelings. A great deal of technology and nothing to do but dwell on the past in your domicile...and sense the world dying around you." She hesitated, sadness on her face. "Krypton, eons ago, was so much like here. Diverse...vibrant...We had such wisdom, such potential...I wish we had recovered."

Kal gently put his hand to her face and gently lifted her head to look at him. "Keep that in mind...learn from it. We have people here that are like that. It's up to us to make a difference...and keep it from happening here."

He hesitated.

"We all make a difference in other people's lives...and it has NOTHING to do with powers...and EVERYTHING to do with heart. People have said I inspire others as Superman...and that's fine. But it's when I help as Clark Kent...when I come from the human vantage point...that I TRULY feel like I connect, like I make a real difference." He hesitated again, staring out at the white, frozen landscape. "Ironically, the people I admire the MOST...don't have any powers. All they have is their humanity ... and their courage. The police… The firefighters… who put their own lives in danger in order to save the lives of others. Doctors, Nurses, who give up their personal time to help heal others, Perry and Jimmy..."

A smile crossed his face. "Beautiful girl reporters..." Lois raised an eyebrow and elbowed him playfully.

Kara felt lost. "Kal, where do I go now? Do I come and live with you?" 

Superman was silent for a moment. _How do we work this?_ he thought.

With Luthor in office, it would be a difficult task to get Oracle to hack into the government computers and give Kara an Identity that would hold up...

He contemplated what would likely happen if his nemesis, now President, got his fingers into Kara...It would only be marginally worse than handing Kara over to Darksied. He heard the crunching of snow and squeaking of wheels, and looked up as Bruce and Barbara came over...

"Clark, we're heading out." Bruce said.

"Kara, where are you going to go?" Barbara interjected. "I'd imagine you'd want to get settled about now."

Kara looked at the puzzled expression on Kal's face, and shrugged her shoulders.

Kal sighed. "Yeah, I was just thinking about that, Babs, but that IS a problem. I can't leave Kara at the Kents...Kon-El is living there already...people would start thinking they were running a boarding house." Kal took a deep breath, and then continued. "Lois & I can't take care of her full time either, and the Planet keeps us hopping to one story or another. Asking the President for help is, obviously, off the list, completely."

"What about me?" Babs said. "I've got room at the tower. Not MUCH, but it'd be enough to get her settled in."

Batman frowned. "I'm not sure about that, Barbara, you have a lot to do...WE have a lot to do in Gotham...It's not an...appropriate…home for her."

"Bruce, STOP IT! **_I_** made the offer, NOT you...Besides, I'd think someone with YOUR background would be encouraging this. She needs friends and family NOW more than ever. Getting into a 'normal' routine will help her tremendously." Barbara paused, eyes narrowed, looking up at the Dark Knight angrily. Then an evil smile crossed her face. "Of course, we could always send her to live with you. At least it would give Alfred company."

Batman grunted, but remained silent, staring down at the defiant former Batgirl...as he became acutely aware of one particular set of gray eyes quietly sizing him up...

"Just drop the knapsack on the table. You want something to eat?" Barbara opened the door to her refrigerator and sighed. "Ugh...I'm going to have to get down to the local Quik-E-Foods and restock. All I have is beef soup."

"That'll be fine." Kara replied. "If I could ask, what happened before…between you and Batman?"

Barbara sighed in frustration. "It's his reason for being…his obsession. He…has trust issues. There was a traumatic event years ago that scarred him mentally."

"His parents deaths?"

"Yeah, how did you…"

"He told me that when I awoke on the JLA moon base. He also mentioned that in his delerium."

Babs nodded. " That's it. I'm surprised he brought that up, though. For obvious reasons, he doesn't like to talk about it, but I doubt it's ever truly far from his thoughts." She paused, staring hard at the can of soup in her hands. She looked up at Kara with sadness in her eyes. "I think he probably asks now and then, 'Why me? Why was I the only one left alive?'. It's probably the ULTIMATE case of 'survivor's guilt'." Barbara paused, looking out the window and continued. "I'm not a psychatrist, but I've worked with him long enough to get a handle on him. I think that's why he has a tendency to be brusque and abrasive, why he pushes everyone away…He doesn't want to be hurt like that any more. He doesn't want to let anyone in for fear of that hurt…or hurting others if they care about him. It takes a long time before he trusts others and lets them in."

She sighed sadly. "For the most part, aside from his butler, he lives alone."

Barbara pulled another can out of the cabinet, and then continued. "Anyway, back on topic…that jab was my mean-spirited poke at his…paranoia.

Even his friends in the JLA found out the hard way about his caution. He doesn't trust them totally…and has been studying their strengths and weaknesses and preparing plans to stop them if they should ever turn against mankind. One of his enemies found these plans and took down the Justice League."

Kara looked at her in disbelief. "Yeah, I bet Kal stopped that."

Barbara shook her head.

"Diana stopped it?"

Barbara shook her head again. "They were ALL immobilized. Superman's skin had turned transparent, and his cells were painfully super-saturated with sunlight. Diana was trapped in a virtual reality world she couldn't get out of, and the rest fared no better. "

"Changing the subject…How do you like it here so far? Clark was telling me you spent time on Paradise Island." Barbara pulled two bowls out of the cabinets, opened both cans, and poured the contents into the bowls.

Kara was sitting at the table, her eyes golden, studying the computer system in the next room. "It was cool. I enjoyed meeting Diana and Troia and the rest of their 'sisters'. I LOVED their library...I just wish I had more time to delve into earth history." She stopped and watched as Barbara wheeled over to the microwave with the two bowls. "If you put them on the table, Barbara, I could speed up the process."

Barbara nodded, and placed them on the table. Two minutes later they were digging into their bowls hungrily.

Kara hesitated, and then reached into her bag, pulling out the gold memory crystal, her connection to a world long gone. She flicked the switch and stared at the holograms. Barbara watched silently. _You can see the resemblance_, she thought.

Kara paused, and then looked at her.

Staring at her past… facing her future, Kara began to tell her tale to her former best friend…

About a man named Jor-El, and his brother named Zor-El...

And that cold, doomed world they both fought to save...

END... 

For the moment...

"It's been a long road...

Getting from there to here...

It's been a long time...

But my time is finally here..."

_**Rod Stewart, 'Faith of the Heart'**_


End file.
